Howard Dawber

Chief Executive Officer
howard@citystrategy.co.uk

Howard founded City Strategy in 2022 after 18 years as Managing Director, Strategy of Canary Wharf Group. Canary Wharf Group is the only property company in the world to have successfully planned, built and operated an entirely new Central Business District from zero.

At Canary Wharf Group, Howard worked on over 10m sq ft of commercial, residential, retail and leisure development and led the campaign to secure and fund the Elizabeth Line, London’s new $30bn supermetro rail system. Most recently he set up an innovative partnership with the Eden Project and helped lead Canary Wharf’s strategic pivot into the life sciences sector with Europe’s largest laboratory building.

Howard was part of the London 2012 Olympic Bid, founding the UK Legacy Trust which raised £80m to fund the national cultural Olympiad, and then a Board Member of the Legacy List, the Charity for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. He was a Board Member of inward investment agency Gateway to London, and the Mayor’s promotional agency London and Partners. Today he is a trustee of “The Line”, the open air art gallery in east London.

Prior to Canary Wharf Group, Howard spent 10 years in Public Affairs and Strategic consulting, leading projects for clients including Emirates Airline, McDonalds, Port of Dover, Honda, BAE Systems, and numerous cities around the UK. He led the successful bid for Newport in South Wales to become a city and also worked on Liverpool’s successful bid to become European Capital of Culture.

Howard was the creator and Chair of the East End Community Foundation, working with some of the most disadvantaged groups in London, securing a £30m endowment. He is also a trustee of THESIS Trust which has funded and built a new secondary school in Bangladesh.

He is the author of a number of publications including “Financing for Growth”, which sets out innovative land value capture mechanisms to fund infrastructure. He is a visiting lecturer on strategy and networking, and the Chair of the University of East London Business School Advisory Board.

Howard has run for office at local and national level and has been a business and campaign adviser to successive Mayors of London and Mayoral candidates.