The Board

Eden Project Limited is managed by a Board of Executive and Non-Executive Directors who remain ultimately responsible to the Eden Trust, a UK Registered Charity (number 1093070). On the executive side, Tim Smit is the Chief Executive and heads up the board. Gaynor Coley is Managing Director, Tony Kendle is Foundation Director and Peter Cox is Finance Director. Ken Hill is the Chairman of the Board, and the non-executive directors are Richard Eyre, Peter Hardaker, Julie Hill, Dr. Alan Stanhope and Cullum McAlpine.

Tim Smit, Chief Executive

Tim was born in Holland on 25 September 1954, and was educated in Britain at Vinehall and Cranbrook Schools. He read Archaeology and Anthropology at Durham University and subsequently worked as an archaeologist for two years in the Northeast of England. Following this Tim worked for ten years in the music industry as composer/producer in both rock music and opera, during which his ventures received 7 platinum and gold discs. In 1987 Tim moved to Cornwall and oversaw the restoration of the Lost Gardens of Heligan, which is the most visited private garden in the UK with 400,000 visitors a year. Tim remains a Director of the gardens to the present day. Tim is Chief Executive of the Eden Project. His awards include an Honorary CBE in January 2002, and he has written books about Heligan and Eden. Tim lives in Fowey, Cornwall. He is a regular speaker at conferences, dinners and other events. In his free time he enjoys reading, film, music and art.

Gaynor Coley, Managing Director

Gaynor joined the Eden Project as Finance Director in 1997, having been Director of Corporate Finance at the University of Plymouth. She describes the move as like 'stepping from an oil tanker on to a small, fast-moving speedboat with little petrol'. Her first job at the Project was to make it financially and commercially secure and she led the development and delivery of the £86m public and private sector funding package that allowed the Project to be delivered on time and on budget. This provided a template that has been used by many other projects throughout the UK. Her Finance Team was recognised as the Accountancy Age team of the year in 2001.

In May 2001 she became the Eden Project Managing Director and steered the team through their first full season and a record-breaking 1.8m visitors. She then oversaw the process that has brought the current phase of the project to fruition. Gaynor grew up in Wales, graduated in Economics from University College London in 1979, and has a postgraduate certificate in Education from London’s Institute of Education. She trained in the City of London with Touche Ross, moving to Cornwall in 1987 with KPMG. She moved into the food industry with her first Financial Directorship in 1990. Her role model in life is Mary Poppins: ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to snap your fingers and have all the chores done.'

Tony Kendle, Foundation Director

Tony was part of the Development Team from 1996 but joined Eden full time in September 2000 and was appointed Foundation Director in October 2001. As Foundation Director his responsibilities include strategic development of the meaning of the project, overseeing the education programme (schools and public), science outreach and horticulture. Prior to joining Eden he was a staff member at the University of Reading School of Plant Sciences. He has worked as a researcher and consultant both in the UK and overseas specialising in nature conservation, horticulture and restoration of degraded lands.

Peter Cox, Finance Director

Peter Cox joined the Eden Project in June 2002 and was appointed to the Board as Finance Director and Company Secretary in November 2002. As part of his role, Peter also has responsibility for fundraising and IT. Prior to joining Eden he was a partner at Ernst & Young in London where he specialised in corporate finance and restructuring.

Non-executive Directors

Ken Hill (Chairman)

Ken has been a Board member and Chairman since September 1999. Before retiring he was Group Director of Finance for the Pennon Group Plc (formerly South West Water Plc). He is Chairman of Clear Communications Limited and Chairman of the Board of West Country Rivers Trust. He has held a number of previous directorships in the water, waste, contracting, instrumentation and television industries.

Richard Eyre

Richard Eyre was appointed to the Board in February 2003. His career spans nearly 30 years in the media business and he has been CEO of ITV and Capital Radio. He was also Chairman and Chief Executive of Pearson Television and an executive director of RTL, the largest broadcasting company in Europe. In addition to several other Non-Executive directorships mainly in media and communications, his first novel was published in June 2005

Peter Hardaker

Peter has been a Board member since October 1999. His career has been in the supply sector of agriculture, specifically machinery and general agricultural inputs, having been the CEO of Cornwall Farmers Ltd, the West Country Co-operative. He is a non-executive director of Isles of Scilly Steamship Group including Skybus; a director of Kernow Grain, chairman of Cornwall Agricultural Council and Chairman of the Objective 1 Task force for Agriculture and Horticulture for Cornwall and Isles of Scilly. He is Vice Chairman of Duchy College Council and a council member of the Royal Cornwall Agricultural Association (Royal Cornwall Show).

Julie Hill

Julie joined the Board in November 2004. She is a former Director of, and currently an Associate of, Green Alliance, one of the UK’s leading environmental policy organisations. Her areas of expertise are biotechnology, waste and resources, and sustainable buildings. She has held a number of government advisory posts, including five years as Deputy Chair of the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission.

Dr Alan Stanhope

Appointed to the Board in July 1999 Alan originally worked as an engineer in the aerospace and energy industries. He has worked in senior management in education, becoming Principal/CEO of Cornwall College, the largest in the UK and having 55,000 students. He is a non-executive director of a health trust, an urban regeneration company and chairs the board of a company providing eldercare.

Cullum Mc Alpine

Cullum was appointed to the Board in February 1998 and is a Director of Sir Robert McAlpine Limited. He is Chairman of R.E.S. Ltd, a renewable energy company, and a Non-Executive Director of MITIE Group plc, a support services company. He is a member of the Worshipful Company of Distillers, London and the Society of Merchant Venturers, Bristol.