Orna NiChionna
Chair of the Trust
Orna became a Trustee in March 2023 and took up the role of Chair of the Eden Trust in June 2023. She was Chair of the Soil Association from 2007 to 2013; she was Deputy Chair and then Acting Chair of the National Trust until 2022. She was also a Trustee of Sir John Soane’s Museum and chaired its trading subsidiary for ten years. She is the Deputy Chair of the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
More about Orna
Orna is Irish and studied Electronic Engineering at UCD and UCC. After gaining an MBA at Harvard Business School she moved to London to work for McKinsey and Company. Leaving after 18 years, she has since served on the boards of several large UK public companies, including Royal Mail, Saga, HMV; and on the boards of Bupa, and of Said Business School at Oxford University. She chaired the Board of digital innovation consultancy Founders Intelligence and chaired the Advisory Board of Eden McCallum for many years. She is currently the Senior Independent Director at Burberry plc.
She comments that although her head sees the value to society of well run businesses, her heart is with not-for-profit organisations, because their causes are vitally important; their positive impact can be great; and their staff are usually very special. She adds: 'that is certainly the case at the Eden Project and it is a huge honour to be a member of the team'.