Mini biographies of committee members as at 24 February 2012
Mr Andrew Long
Became Acting Chairman of the RDC on 1 February 2012. Andrew's main career was as a partner at in the Insurance team at Pinsent Masons, a major commercial law firm, where he led the firm's financial services regulation practice and was recognised as a leading financial services lawyer. Author, editor and lecturer on financial services law, particularly retail investments, including contributions to a leading textbook, practitioner guides, educational courses and seminars for major organisations. Other regulatory roles have included Board membership of the Solicitors Regulation Authority where he chaired the SRA's Financial Protection Committee and its Liaison Committee with Qualifying Insurers. In the regulated rail industry he is a Panel Chair of the Access Disputes Committee resolving disputes between industry organisations. He has been a Deputy District Judge of the High Court and County Court since 2000. In 2009 he was appointed a Tax Judge in the Finance and Tax Tribunal.
Mr Robin Callender Smith
Mr Martin Hagen
A non executive director of South West Water, Swallowfield Plc and a Governor of the University of the West of England. He retired from Deloitte in 2005, where he was senior partner of the firm's Bristol office and head of the West of England audit practice and where he advised a large number of listed, multinational and large national companies. He was President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales for 2009/10 and a member of the Takeover Panel.
Mr David Ashton
A Senior Managing Director of FTI (a global consulting services firm), subsequent to retiring from Arthur Andersen, where he was a senior partner heading the UK financial consulting services practice, and responsible for quality control over the European practice. He is a Chartered accountant, and qualified arbitrator and mediator. He has extensive experience as an expert witness in hundreds of financial disputes, as well as acting as expert or mediator between parties.
Mr Gary Bottriell
A Managing Partner of Bottriell Adams LLP, a private client financial planning and investment practice. Gary is a Chartered Financial Planner, a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society and Deputy Chairman of the Association of Independent Financial Advisers. He is a Senior Examiner for the Chartered Insurance Institute for subjects related to the Diploma and Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning. Gary is a Fellow of the Geological Society.
Ms Olivia Dickson
Olivia is a non-executive Director and member of the Audit Committee and Remuneration Committees of Investec plc, a non-executive Director of Canada Life Limited, the Senior Independent Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Invista Real Estate Investment Management Holdings plc and a Trustee Director and Chair of the Risk and Assurance Committee of the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme. Olivia is also a member of the Financial Reporting Council's Board for Actuarial Standards, the Financial Services Authority's Regulatory Decisions Committee and the Pensions Regulator's Determinations Panel.
Most recently Olivia served as a non-executive Director and Chair of the Risk and Compliance Committee of Aon Limited and prior to that as a Senior Adviser to the Financial Services Authority. Previously Olivia was a Managing Director at JP Morgan, where she served in a number of senior roles including Head of European Derivatives Brokerage. While at JP Morgan, Olivia was a non-executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of the London International Financial Futures Exchange. Olivia read Mathematics at St Hilda's College, Oxford and is a Sloan Fellow of the London Business School.
Mr David Sachon
An experienced business manager from within the asset management, insurance and financial services industry, David retired from Threadneedle in March 2006, where he was a Managing Director since 1997. David started his career as a financial journalist in 1974. As a management consultant he gained considerable experience through projects with a number of UK life offices and banks. He was Director of MGM Assurance from 1983 to 1991, and Managing Director of Hill Samuel from 1991 to 1997. David is currently a Director of Trades Union Fund Managers Ltd. He is Vice President of the Mental Health Foundation, a Member of the NSPCC City Group Panel and a Trustee of the Bluebird Community Partnership.
Mr Mike Urmston
An Actuary and Finance Director with wide experience of the Life and Pensions industry. He worked for AVIVA plc and many of its predecessor companies for 38 years where he was a Life Board Director, Chief Actuary and Finance Director of GA Life, CGU Life and finally Norwich Union Life. Most recently he has supported AVIVA plc in the negotiation of the reattribution of its Inherited Estate.
He is a Trustee of the Aviva Staff Pension Scheme, and a Non-Executive Director of Police Mutual Assurance Society, Fortis Life, the Life Companies of the Pearl Group, and Admin Re.
Mr John Woodman
John Woodman was most recently chairman of Chi-X Europe Ltd. He was one of the founders of Efficient Frontiers, a consulting firm specializing in capital markets and had previously been a Managing Director at UBS, where he worked for 17 years most recently as COO of the investment bank's European equity business and the global equity transaction processing systems. He was subsequently COO of Knight Securities' European business. He is a past Chairman of the London Stock Exchange's Rules Committee, a member of the SFA's Conduct of Business Committee and of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland's Research Committee. He read Industrial Economics at Nottingham University and is a Chartered Accountant. He is currently chair of Berwick Citizens Advice Bureau, a trustee of a pension fund and two charities in Northumberland and a member of the First Tier Tax Tribunal.
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A media law expert, he has worked as a barrister since 1977 after spending four years as a journalist. He is Chairman of the Independent Appeals Board of Phonepay Plus, the premium rate telephone regulator. He is also an Information Rights Judge and an Immigration Judge. He has spent over 30 years as media lawyer for national newspapers and 10 years in the City dealing with FTSE 100 takeovers and mergers as well as issues relating to compliance, corporate governance and professional standards in the financial services sector. He is a former elected member of the Bar Council and Gray's Inn Barristers' Committee and is a Vice President of London Youth, London's largest youth charity, for 10 years. He is completing a Ph D at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL).