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. In 2019, Chester Zoo welcomed more than 2 million visitors, employed 1,000 staff and had a turnover of £46 million. Under Christon’s leadership, the zoo 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.”
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.
Before joining Chester Zoo in 2013, Jamie Christon oversaw onboard operations for Stena Line in Europe. He started 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.
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.