Jennifer Page (Millennium Dome)

Jennifer "(Jennie)" Page CBE, born 12 November 1944 cite web|title = The Times On Line, Birthdays, 12 November 2007"|url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/court_and_social/article2841554.ece
accessdate = 2008-07-30] was Chief Executive of the London Millennium Dome project from 1997 until she was sacked after a flawed opening night and poor early attendance at the start of 2000.

Education

The author Susan Hill states [cite web|title = About Susan - Autobiography of author Susan Hill|url = http://www.susan-hill.com/pages/about_susan/biography.asp|accessdate = 2008-07-28] that when her parents moved to Coventry she attended Barr's Hill Grammar School for Girls where fellow pupils included Page. Miss Page was later educated at Royal Holloway, University of Londoncite web|title = Dome dame gets things done - BBC news report of 27 December 1999, four days prior to opening of the Dome, including picture with Prime Minister, Tony Blair, brief biography and salary details|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/577378.stm|accessdate = 2008-07-31] where she was awarded a First-Class Honours BA degree in English in 1966.

Position as Dome Chief Executive

Page was headhunted for the job by the then Heritage Secretary, Stephen Dorrell, according to "The Observer"cite web|title = How Dome dreams were dashed - The Observer, 6 February 2000|url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2000/feb/06/millennium.uk|accessdate = 2008-07-31] , Ms Page had previously worked for the London Docklands Development Corporation and had a reputation for a hardheaded style of management. Cracks developing behind the scenes began to show in January 1998 when Stephen Bayley, creative director of the project, resigned. He described Government Minister Peter Mandelson, whose project it had become, as a dictator reminiscent of: "an East German Stalinist".

Miss Page was sacked as Chief Executive on 5 February 2000. She had come under pressure after an opening night fiasco on 31 December 1999, followed by poor attendance in January 2000 and a revolt by sponsors.

She was replaced by an unknown 34 year old Frenchman, Pierre-Yves Gerbeau, known as "P-Y" and also nicknamed "the Gerbil" by the popular press, who had previously worked for the Disneyland Paris theme park. He was not thought particularly senior in the Disney organisation cite web|title = Dome chief is ousted for Disney `whiz-kid', The Independent, 6 Feb 2000"|url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20000206/ai_n14287420|accessdate = 2008-07-28] .

During her time at the Dome, and with compensation for her early departure, she was rumoured to have received a salary of £500,000. Later, in June 2000, Page gave evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee for Culture, Media and Sport. She said that: "the Dome had been seen by ministers and the public as a political project almost since its inception". Ms Page also claimed that she had asked ministers to step back from the project to calm the controversy surrounding it. In what was seen as a reference to the close interest in the Dome from Peter Mandelson, the former so-called "Minister for the Dome", and his successor "Lord Falconer of Thoroton", Ms Page told the committee: "I made several attempts to persuade ministers that standing back from the Dome would be good for them as well as good for the Dome." [cite web|title = Page told ministers to stay away from Dome', The Independent, 16 June 2000"|url = http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/page-told-ministers-to-stay-away-from-dome-715271.html|accessdate = 2008-07-31] . Ms Page added to her criticism of ministers by insisting that the unexpected decision by the Prime Minister Tony Blair to invite one million schoolchildren to the Dome for free had had a significant impact on its income. It meant many parents would no longer pay to visit with their families, and forced the building of extra facilities for the large school parties. A decision to ban visitors arriving by car also cut the public's level of interest.

Previous positions

Prior to her appointment to the Dome project, she was Chief Executive of English Heritage from 1989 to 1995, having been recruited by the then chairman, Jocelyn Stevens. From 1995 to 1997 she became Chief Executive of the Millennium Commission. Before these appointments she had been employed as a civil servant .in the Departments of the Environment and Transport, BNOC, London Docklands Development Corporation, and Pallas Group. She was also a non-executive director of Railtrack Group plc, and The Equitable Life Assurance Society [cite web|title = The Dome - Who Runs It? - New Millennium Experience Company Ltd|url = http://wwp.millennium-dome.com/experience/company.htm|accessdate = 2008-07-28] which almost collapsed financially in the millennium year [cite web|title = "Page haunted by Millennium Dome at Equitable Poll" - article in the Daily Telegraph, 25 May 2000"|url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/2000/05/25/cnpage25.html|accessdate = 2008-07-29] . The Society issued claims for negligence against nine former directors, including Page, but in 2005 conceded total defeat in a four-year £3.2bn legal action to obtain compensation for policyholders. £10.2m was paid to the former directors to cover much of their legal expenses with Page paid just over £3m. [cite web|title = "Treves refuses to go after Equitable Life drops £3.2bn claim" - article in the Guardian, 3 December 2005"|url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2005/dec/03/business.equitablelife
accessdate = 2008-07-29]

Post-Dome career

In 2006, she was appointed vice-chairman, of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England [cite web|title = Catherdrals Fabric Commission for England and Wales, Annual Report 2007"|url = http://www.cofe.anglican.org/about/cathandchurchbuild/cathedralsguidance/annualreport2007.pdf
accessdate = 2008-07-31] , a statutory body, chaired by Frank Field MP, pledged "to promote the care and conservation of the Cathedral churches of the Church of England."

References