Nick Markham is leading non-executive director at the Department for Work and Pensions. He has extensive experience across the public, private and voluntary sectors. He is currently chair of London & Continental Railways, which is owned by the Department for Transport and performs large-scale regeneration around stations such as Kings Cross and the Stratford Olympic site and is about to embark on a major house building programme. Previously he was the lead non-executive director for the Ministry of Housing, Local Government and Communities and deputy leader of Westminster Council. Markham is also a founder of Safe Haven, a social enterprise charity that provides 200 homes for the homeless in London after raising £33 million through an innovative funding model which effectively “securitises housing benefit” thereby requiring no government grants or donations. He has extensive private sector experience with roles including ITV Strategy Director, where he developed the concept of Freeview with the BBC and was in charge of the Carlton and Granada merger. Previously, he was CFO of Laura Ashley and CEO of Top Up TV which was the World’s first successful Digital Terrestrial pay TV company which he established on the back of venture capital. Recently he has founded a COVID screening business which allows the PGA golf, Scottish Premier League football, Netflix and BBC TV production companies to all safely restart their activities following the lockdown.
