Council membership

Chair of Council biography

Christopher Jonas, born in 1941, is a past president of the RICS. He carries on a portfolio of activities from his private office in Westminster.

He is chairman of Henderson Global Property CompaniesInternational Income Trustplc, a director of Chelsfield Partners LLP, a senior adviser at Lazard & Co Ltd, and a director of Sunrise Senior Living international Executive Channel Europe Ltd. He is on the joint ventures board of Bank of Scotland and the investment board of CBRE Investors. He has served as an independent director on the main board of British Railways and the board of Canary Wharf plc; until recently he was chairman of Glasgow Harbour Ltd, of Education Capital plc (specialist funding for the FE sector), the Ethics Standards Board of the Accountancy Foundation and the England board of Bank of Scotland. He is a principal private equity investor in early stage companies, with an emphasis on those founded by young and highly motivated owner/managers.

His pro bono work includes being chairman of Roedean School and chairman of the second stage development of Tate Modern. In 1989 he founded ProHelp, which arranges for professional firms to give their expertise free to the voluntary sector. ProHelp offers about £5m of free advice each year and comprises over 1000 member firms.

The College published a press release in December 2005 on the appointment of the new Chair of Council.