Jamie Christon

As CEO, Jamie Christon is responsible for the overall leadership of Chester Zoo’s organisational plan and its team of directors and senior management. The zoo is one of the largest and most popular in Europe. 

Christon joined Chester Zoo in 2013 as the zoo’s COO before being named CEO in March 2021. He focused on the zoo’s financial recovery after the pandemic. In 2022, he re-established the strategic development plan and is now supporting the zoo’s conservation masterplan, which will take the institution to its 100th anniversary in 2031.

He is chair of the British & Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), a World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) council member, and chair of Marketing Cheshire.

After graduating with a degree in politics, Christon started his career in high street food and retail department store management. He went on to work for Manchester Airport Group, leading commercial operations. After this, he became managing director at Exeter Airport in Devon and later oversaw onboard operations for Stena Line in Europe. 

In 2019, Chester Zoo welcomed over 2 million visitors, employed 1,000 staff and had a turnover of £46 million. Under Christon’s leadership, it has gone from strength to strength.

Speaking to blooloop in 2018, he said: “Every species here at Chester Zoo is here for a particular reason and has a particular function. That could be breeding; it could be because it is extinct in the wild; it might be because it is here to be protected from poaching and the illegal wildlife trade; or, like the Sumatran orangutans or the Sumatran tigers, because it is critically endangered in the wild.”

As well as being a popular tourist attraction, Chester Zoo is a conservation education charity with a vital mission. As part of the organisation’s ten-year master plan, it aims to significantly contribute to tackling the global extinction crisis.

At greenloop 2022, attendees learned how it is helping to create sustainable palm oil communities. The “Sustainable Palm Oil City” initiative, which encouraged local businesses and restaurants to adopt responsible sourcing practices, won gold at the BIAZA awards.