Chris Hearnden has become Master Hackney Carriage Driver of the Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers.
Reporting says he took office on 2 September 2026 at Brewers’ Hall, succeeding Leigh Dargan, who becomes Deputy Master. Hearnden joined London General Cab Company in 1961, later ran workshops for 200-plus vehicles, completed a management buyout in 1999 and sold the fleet in 2016. He gained his Yellow Badge in 1972 and became a Freeman of the City in 2015. In retirement he drives for the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans and Magical Taxi Tour; the WCHCD’s 32nd tour takes about 200 seriously ill children to Disneyland Paris on 25–27 September. The company became the City’s 104th livery in 2004 and gained a Royal Charter in 2013.