Chris Oglesby

Chris grew up in Manchester, studied at LSE and City University, London and worked briefly in the City before returning north in 1991 to work for the company his father founded in 1976. He was appointed CEO in 1999 and has overseen the growth of the business to one that owns £1bn of commercial properties across the city regions of Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Leeds with a further £1bn development pipeline across all four cities.

Chris is the majority shareholder of Bruntwood, which remains a family-owned and run company founded on a belief that its success comes from the success of its colleagues, customers and the communities in which it operates. This commitment to cities has led to Chris playing a leading role in many public and private sector partnerships, currently including Corridor Manchester, MIF and the Business Leadership Council, which he chairs.

The same partnership approach was taken into Bruntwood’s acquisition of Manchester Science Partnerships (msp) in collaboration with Manchester and Salford Councils, Manchester University and MMU. Likewise the Citylabs development was in partnership with the Central Manchester NHS Trust. More recently, as Chair of msp, Chris led the acquisition of AZ research HQ, Alderley Park bringing Cheshire East into msp.

Bruntwood is nationally recognised for its support of cultural and community initiatives, donating 10% of its annual profits to charitable causes. Chris is a Trustee of The Oglesby Charitable Trust, which works with more than 40 community based charities a year, is a board member of youth charity Onside and a school governor.