At the recent meeting of the Council of Management held earlier this month, Lord (George) Robertson stepped down as Chairman of Ditchley after eight years in the role.
During this period, he supported three Directors, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, Sir John Holmes and most recently, James Arroyo, and helped shape a role for Ditchley in a world struggling to find a response to continued terrorist attacks, global financial instability, military aggression of nation states towards neighbours and their own citizens, a migration crisis, and the outcome of democratic votes which will irrevocably alter the dynamics of the Western world. All involved with Ditchley are indebted to him for his leadership and encouragement over this period, and his willingness to share gems from a vast mine of anecdotes. He has been, and we hope will remain, a great friend of Ditchley.
His successor is the Rt Hon Lord Hill of Oareford (Jonathan Hill), who brings a wealth of experience from politics, government, and the commercial sector, both in the UK and the EU.
Nominated by the former British Prime Minister David Cameron, he took office as European Commissioner in November 2014 with responsibility for financial regulation across the whole of Europe. His flagship programme was the development of a European Capital Markets Union to increase the flow of investment capital throughout the EU. He resigned as Commissioner in the immediate aftermath of the UK referendum on EU membership in June 2016.
Before becoming European Commissioner, Lord Hill was a member of the British Cabinet as Leader of the House of Lords and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 2013 to 2014. Before that, he served as minister for Schools from 2010 to 2013, where he was responsible for implementing the Academies and Free Schools reforms.
Before setting up his own business, he had been special adviser to Cabinet Minister Kenneth Clarke (1986-1989) and Political Secretary to Prime Minister John Major (1992-1994). He ran John Major’s campaign in the Conservatives’ surprise victory of 1992 and worked at 10 Downing Street throughout the negotiations over the Maastricht Treaty when Mr Major successfully negotiated Britain’s opt-out from the euro and the Social Chapter.
We are delighted that Lord Hill has agreed to take on the role of Chairman of Ditchley and look forward to working with him as Ditchley enters the next phase of its evolution.