Mertonians recognised in King's Birthday Honours
Each year, the King’s Birthday Honours List recognises the accomplishments of extraordinary people across the UK and beyond. Among the 2023 recipients were three Mertonians.
Professor Dame EJ Milner-Gulland, Sir Henry Savile Fellow, Tasso Leventis Professor of Biodiversity and Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science in the Biology Department of the University of Oxford, was made a Dame for services to International Conservation. EJ has made a sustained high-level contribution over a 32-year career to biodiversity conservation directly and by inspiring and enabling others, many notably from developing countries. She is one of the UK’s pre-eminent scientists; her Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science works across five continents to understand, predict, and influence human behaviour to reduce biodiversity loss while upholding human rights and wellbeing, advise businesses on improving environmental and social sustainability, and control illegal wildlife trade. She has chaired the UK Government’s Darwin Expert Committee since 2019 and since 2021 has served on HM Treasury’s Biodiversity Valuation Working Group. She has been a trustee of numerous organisations including WWF-UK, Flora and Flora International, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, the Saiga Conservation Alliance and Conservation Optimism. She advises numerous national and international bodies including IUCN, the UN Convention on Migratory Species, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, and UK Research Councils and conservation organisations.
Sir Mark Thompson (1976), an Honorary Fellow of the College, was made Knight Bachelor. Mark is the Chairman of Ancestry.com, co-Chair of the International Fund for Public Interest Media, Deputy Chair of the Royal Shakespeare Company and an advisor to the Supervisory Board of Axel Springer SE. He stepped down as President & CEO at The New York Times Company in the summer of 2020 after an eight-year tenure in which the 170-year-old news brand was transformed into a digital powerhouse. Mark Thompson's appointment at The New York Times Company followed an eight-year term as Director General of the BBC.
Sir Alex Chisholm (1986) was made Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB). He was the first Chief Executive of the Competition and Markets Authority, where he led the successful merger of the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission. In 2016 he became Permanent Secretary at the Department of Energy and Climate Change, which subsequently became the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). During his tenure, BEIS developed the industrial strategy, helped businesses prepare for EU Exit, and led the energy transition and adoption of the net zero climate commitment. In 2020 he became Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office and Civil Service Chief Operating Officer, where he has undertaken the leadership and governance of the Cabinet Office as well as leading on Civil Service efficiency and reform.
The College is extremely proud of its alumni for the successes they have achieved in their areas of expertise, and the benefit this has brought to their communities and to the wider world.
We may have missed other Mertonians recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours: please do get in touch with development@merton.ox.ac.uk to let us know if this is the case.
