CPRE people

Shaun Spiers
Chief Executive

Shaun Spiers, born in 1962, has been Chief Executive of CPRE since 2004. From 1999 to 2004 he was Chief Executive of the Association of British Credit Unions Limited (ABCUL). From 1994 to 1999 he was the Member of the European Parliament for London South East. He has a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from St. John's College, Oxford University and an MA in War Studies from King's College London.

Bill Bryson
President

His love of the English countryside is well known and celebrated in his books such as Notes from a Small Island. We believe his passion will help us win support in our cause to protect and enhance the countryside for the benefit of everyone. He is working with us in our campaign against the unsightly litter which is spoiling our countryside.

Bill was born in Iowa, America, in 1951. A backpacking expedition in 1973 brought him to England. After working for The Times and The Independent in the 1980s as a sub editor, he became a full-time author living in North Yorkshire. He and his family returned to America for several years, and then moved back to England once more in 2003 to live in Norfolk. He has written books on travel and language and his autobiography; The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. Bill is also Chancellor of Durham University, a Commissioner for English Heritage and in 2006 was awarded an honorary OBE for services to literature.

President's View
> Bill's view and your say

Sir Nigel Thompson
Chairman

Sir Nigel Thompson, born in 1939, has been Chairman of CPRE since 2003. He was educated at St Paul's School. He trained as a civil and structural engineer and has worked for Ove Arup Partners for more than 40 years where he is currently Non-Executive Deputy Chairman.

He has extensive experience working throughout the UK, Europe, South East Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and he was one of the first British engineers to enter Kuwait after the Gulf War. In 1999 he was appointed Chairman of the Task Force for the Reconstruction of Kosovo and subsequently for the Reconstruction of Serbia and Montenegro. He has been responsible for the engineering design and supervision of numerous major building and civil engineering projects, including London's Millennium Bridge and the Tate Modern. He is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a Fellow of the Institute of Structural Engineers. He was awarded a CBE in 1996 and made KCMG in 2002.

He has lived in Wiltshire's Kennet Valley for over 30 years and is an active member of the Action for the River Kennet group. His leisure interests are rugby, cricket and landscape/estate gardening. He and his wife Nicky own a smallholding with the once-derelict farmhouse they have restored; it is now given over mainly to broadleaf woodlands and wildflower meadows.