Sir Laurie was originally appointed on 1 September 2013, having previously been Deputy Chairman of The National Trust since 2005. During his first term as Chairman, his responsibilities have included leading the establishment of Historic England under its current name and overseeing the transfer of responsibility for the management of its National Heritage Collection to a new charity, The English Heritage Trust.

He has nearly 40 years of experience in the corporate finance advisory business, latterly specialising in the financial institutions sector. He is a Senior Adviser (Europe) at Evercore Partners, having started his career at Samuel Montagu (HSBC Investment Bank) and then worked successively for Phoenix Partners, Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, Credit Suisse First Boston and Lexicon Partners, where he was Chairman before its acquisition by Evercore in 2011.

He is Chairman of JP Morgan Income & Capital Trust plc and Pantheon International plc. He is a non-executive director of Aggregated Micro Power Holdings plc and Fidelity Japanese Values plc.

In the not for profit sector, he is a trustee of The English Heritage Trust and The All Churches Trust and Chairman of The Windsor Leadership Trust. He is a former trustee of Landmark Trust and Barbican Centre Trust and a former Chairman of B-eat, the eating disorders charity.

The Chair of Historic England is remunerated £40,000 per annum.

This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Sir Laurie Magnus has declared no such political activity.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-secretary-of-state-reappoints-chair-of-historic-england