Dr Poole will commence her duties in April 2018 and will be in succession to Andrew Mackie who has served as Third Estates Church Commissioner since January 2013.

An academic with 15 years’ experience teaching leadership at Ashridge Business School, Dr Poole is the author of ‘Leadersmithing’, shortlisted for the 2018 Business Book Awards.

Dr Poole has previously worked for Deloitte as a Change Management Consultant and also ran the Scottish Redundant Churches Trust. Dr Poole holds a BA in Theology from Durham University, an MBA from Edinburgh University, and a PhD from Cambridge University.

As Third Church Estates Commissioner, Dr Poole will chair the Pastoral, Closed Churches, and Bishoprics and Cathedrals Committees in addition to membership of the Board of Governors.

Welcoming her appointment, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said: “I am very pleased that the Church Commissioners will be gaining the expertise of a Commissioner with such significant leadership and management experience.

“Eve is a hugely skilled and distinguished leader with an exceptional record of service.

“I would also like to thank Andrew Mackie for the outstanding contribution he has made to the Commissioners in his five-year tenure.”

Commenting on her appointment Dr Poole said: “It is a great honour to be appointed Third Estates Commissioner.

“My first job after university was working for the Church Commissioners in the Pastoral and Redundant Churches Department and what I learned then set me in good stead for my resulting career, at both Deloitte and Ashridge.

“It's a great privilege to take all that I have learned in the twenty years since, and offer it back in service to the Commissioners.

“It's a time of change for the Church, and for the cathedrals in particular, and I look forward to playing my part in shaping this exciting future."

The First Church Estates Commissioner, Loretta Minghella, said: “Among her many gifts, Eve brings a wide and deep understanding of the Church to this expanded role.

“We will also benefit enormously from her creativity and commitment and I look forward very much to working with her.”

Dr Eve Poole is Chairman of Gordonstoun School, and divides her time between Edinburgh and London. Eve and her husband, Nathan, have five-year old twin girls, and she worships at St Pancras Church.