A former Slaughter and May corporate partner is to become chair of the UK's Financial Conduct Authority. Charles Randell has been appointed to the city regulatory body for five years and replaces ex-KPMG accountant John Griffith-Jones. Mr Randell takes over at the regulatory body as it prepares for Brexit by transposing EU financial regulations into UK law before 2019. Andrew Bailey, FCA Chief Executive commented: 'I am very pleased to welcome Charles to the FCA. His experience of regulation, both during the financial crisis and more recently as a member of the Prudential Regulation Committee, means that he has a strong understanding of the challenges that the FCA faces and I look forward to tackling these with him in his new role.'

Treasury exposure

At Slaughter and May Mr Randell developed close links with the UK Treasury when working on a number of deals including the winding up of Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley and the Iclandic banks. He also dealt with the UK government's investments into the theRoyal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group merger with HBOS. He also advised the Portuguese Ministry of Finance on the recapitalisation of the Portuguese banking sector. He worked at Slaughter and May from 1980 to 2013, becoming a partner in 1989. He specialised in corporate finance law, and worked on financial stability and bank restructuring assignments.

Other positions

Mr Randell is a member of the Prudential Regulation Committee of the Bank of England; a Non-Executive Director and Chair of Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; and a Visiting Fellow in financial services regulation at Queen Mary University of London.