Chris Grigg

Chris Grigg is chief executive of the British Land Company.

City banker becomes city property developer

From his biography on British Land's website:

Chris Grigg joined British Land as Chief Executive in January 2009. He was Chief Executive of Barclays Commercial Bank until November 2008, having joined the bank in 2005 as Group Treasurer. Prior to Barclays, he held a broad range of leadership positions at Goldman Sachs, where his career spanned 20 years. He rose to partner of Goldman Sachs, working principally in its capital markets and derivatives business. Chris is a member of the Executive Board of the European Public Real Estate Association. In July 2011 he was appointed Vice President of the British Property Federation and becomes President in 2012.

Lobbying against the 50p tax rate

Grigg was one of 30 powerful businessman to have signed an open letter to chancellor George Osborne in November 2011 urging him to speed up plans to axe the 50 per cent tax rate on people who earn more than £150,000, to help protect the UK economy from the eurozone crisis.

“We await the conclusions of the HM Revenue and Customs evaluation of the sums raised by the 50 per cent rate; however, we are confident that the cost to the Treasury, if any, in the short term will not be material and that the advantages over the life of this parliament in terms of generally increased economic activity will more than outweigh any direct costs.”

CV

• 1981 Started his career in banking at Morgan Grenfell

• 1985 Moved to Goldman Sachs. Spent the next 20 years at the firm working principally in the capital markets and derivatives businesses. He rose to be a partner in the firm and held a broad range of leadership positions.

• 2006 Becomes Treasurer of Barclays Commercial Bank, the commercial arm of Barclays Bank

• 2007 Chief executive of Barclays Commercial

• 2009 Chief executive, British Land

Education

Grigg graduated from Trinity Hall, Cambridge with a first in economics.