Christopher is a Past President of BEN - and was briefly Interim Chief Executive.

Christopher Macgowan is the former Chief Executive of both The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and The Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF). Christopher is a Freeman of the City of London and a vice president of the Automotive Fellowship International. He is a trustee of the National Motor Museum; a member of the Worshipful Company of Coachmakers; a member of the Public Policy Committee of the Royal Automobile Club Foundation and a member of the Executive Committee of The Caravan Club. He is also a trustee of Farleigh Hospice in Chelmsford, Essex. In 2008 he was appointed Officer to The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.

Christopher was inspired to get involved with BEN in the mid 1990s when a business colleague suffered a severe illness resulting in the loss of his job and putting enormous strain on his family. BEN was able to help that colleague put his life back together again and was largely responsible for keeping the family together.