John Spence
Chair
John took up the Chairmanship of Harlow Renaissance in August 2006 following a national selection process.
Born in Edinburgh, with education there and in Dublin and Harvard, John’s career with Lloyds TSB spanned 32 years from 1973 to 2005. Senior appointments included Managing Director of Business Banking, Chief Executive of Lloyds TSB Scotland and Managing Director of Retail Distribution encompassing UK branch networks, ATMs, telephony and internet banking. He finally took responsibility for policy and risk where he forged industry wide solutions on key issues.
John has been Deputy Chairman of Business in the Community since 2000. It is this role that has spurred his knowledge and passion for community revitalisation, having worked with a variety of government bodies exploring what makes neighbourhoods work.
He is also a governor of the Church Commissioners, a trustee of St Paul’s Cathedral Foundation and a Director of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. He is a member of the Capital Enterprise Board and is also President of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. Blind himself, John chairs Blind in Business and Vitalise and is President of Enable.