Stuart Etherington

Sir Stuart James Etherington, FRSA (born 26 February 1955) is a British charity executive and former social worker. Since 1994, he has been Chief Executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations. He was previously the Chief Executive of the Royal National Institute for Deaf People.

Etherington was born on 26 February 1955 in Epsom, Surrey, England and brought up in Mickleham, Surrey. He was educated at Sondes Place School, an all boys secondary modern in Dorking, Surrey.

Etherington has a number of university degrees. He studied politics at Brunel University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in 1977. He has a Master of Arts (MA) degree in social service planning from the University of Essex, and a MA degree in international relations and diplomacy from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He also has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the London Business School, University of London.

Etherington began his career as a social worker. He worked in that field between 1977 and 1979, and was based in London Borough of Hillingdon. Then, from 1980 to 1983, he was a researcher for a housing trust. From 1983 to 1985, he worked as a policy advisor to the British Association of Social Workers. He spent the next two years as Director of Good Practices in Mental Health, a small mental health charity.

In 1987, Etherington joined the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) as its Director of Public Affairs. In 1991, he was appoint Chief Executive of the RNID; he was aged 35. On 1 February 1994, he moved to become Chief Executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). During his leadership, the NCVO has increased its membership greatly: As of February 2016 it numbered over 12,000 organisations.

From 2002 to 2006, Etherington was a member of the University Court of the Open University. From 2008 to 2013, he was a Pro-Chancellor and the Chair of Court of the University of Greenwich.

In the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours, Etherington was appointed a Knight Bachelor "for services to the Third Sector", and therefore granted the title sir. He was knighted by Anne, Princess Royal (on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II) during a ceremony held at Buckingham Palace on 25 November 2010.

In July 2000, Etherington was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science (DSc) degree by Brunel University. In 2014, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of the University (DUniv) degree by the University of Greenwich "in recognition of his commitment to higher education and to the work of the university over the past decade".

Etherington is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA). He is an Honorary Fellow of the Institute for Employment Studies.