Thompson joined Camelot in 1997 and was appointed CEO in 2000. In April 2014 it was announced that Thompson would step down from the position from 31 October. Since 2015, she has been a non-executive director of
Next plc. In 2014, Thompson was among candidates considered to succeed
Chris Patten as Chair of the
BBC Trust, but in August, it was announced that the position would be given to
Rona Fairhead, a former Chair of
Financial Times Group. It was confirmed in 2014 that Thompson had assumed ownership of The George Hotel on the
Isle of Wight and that she had plans to reinvigorate the hotel and its dining offer. From
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), Thompson was elevated to
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to the National Lottery and charitable services. ==Personal life==