Christopher Nieper OBE

Managing Director, Christopher Nieper, joined the David Nieper family business in 1986 and witnessed the British fashion industry’s huge migration of manufacturing to offshore production.

Choosing to go against this offshoring trend and remaining steadfast to the company’s commitment to ‘Made in Britain’, Christopher pioneered the company’s investment in marketing, new manufacturing, infrastructure and skills to deliver continuous and sustainable growth.

The company has multiplied sales 25 times in 25 years and today enjoys record sales of its luxury womenswear and employs 250 people.

In 2015 Christopher was named as a “leadership exemplar” in the UK’s Top 100 Manufacturers and in the same year amongst Derbyshire’s most inspirational 250 people. Both Christopher and his father have been honoured with a lifetime achievement award for contribution to British made fashion and direct marketing.

At the age of 19, Christopher sailed the Atlantic and also started his own furniture repair business before completing a degree in mechanical engineering and joining the family company.

In 2015 Christopher formed the Christopher Nieper Education Trust, which engages with education establishments at all levels from primary and secondary schools, to universities and vocational training. The Trust actively encourages education to equip young people for careers and for employers and educators to work together.

A beekeeper, sportsman, school governor, and former non-executive director of Help the Aged. Christopher is married with four children and lives in rural Derbyshire.