Profile
After Cambridge and Oxford Universities and 2 years in the Ministry of Finance, Zambia, I worked for nearly 25 years in the UK Treasury on economic policy. From 1986-1997, I held senior positions specialising in privatisation, economic regulation, competition and related supply side and industry policies. I had key responsibilities in the UK privatisation programme, including in relation to specific security sales; and developed skills in governance, management and change management.
I was the first Chief Executive of the UK Debt Management Office. The DMO was established in 1998 with the aim "...to carry out the government's debt management policy of minimising financing costs over the longer term, taking account of risk, and to manage the aggregate cash needs of the Exchequer in the most cost effective way." The DMO is legally part of HM Treasury but operates at arms length from Ministers; and the Chief Executive has responsibility for operational decisions on debt and cash management and for day-to-day management of the office.
During my 5 years at the DMO it developed as a centre of excellence with strong governance, risk management and accountability frameworks; and expanded its responsibilities across Government's financial balance sheet, maintaining service to the market throughout.
Since leaving the DMO in early 2003, I have worked as an independent consultant with the World Bank, IMF and others; more details are in the following pages.
I have also written on debt and cash management and presented widely to domestic and international audiences.
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I edited "Government Debt Management: New Trends and Challenges" (Central Banking Publications, London, 2006), which included my paper on the growing responsibilities of debt management offices. I chaired a panel on this subject at the Government Borrowers' Forum, 2006. [Presentation]
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In 2007, I published "Managing Sovereign Assets and Liabilities: the Role of Debt Management Offices", a chapter in Jennifer Johnson-Calari and Malan Reitveld (eds) "Sovereign Wealth Management" (Central Banking Publications, London 2007), on which I presented at a subsequent World Bank Conference. [Presentation]
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At the World Bank Sovereign Debt Forum, 2010, I presented on the implications of the financial crisis for cash management [Presentation]
; and on debt management legislation
[Presentation]. -
At the 2012 Forum I reviewed the IMF/World Bank Debt Management Guidelines, 10 years on [Presentation]
;
and at the 2018 Forum I presented on the governance framework for the management of contingent liabilities
[Presentation]. -
I have presented several times at the Debt Management Facility Stakeholders' Forum: in Berlin (2013) on Operational Risk Management [Presentation]
and on Policy Coordination between Debt and Cash Management and the Central Bank
[Presentation]; in Vienna (2017) on Debt Management and Monetary Policy Interaction
[Presentation]; and in Brussels (2018) on the Changing Role of the Debt Manager
[Presentation].
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I have also presented to the World Bank Government Bond Market Conference on Price Discovery (Bucharest, 2014 [Presentation]
); to the Forum of Government Treasurers of Latin America, on Financial Programming and active Cash Management (2011); on the Relationship between the Treasury and Central Bank (2012); and on the Investment of Surplus Cash (2013).
I have published extensively on government cash management, and the interaction between cash management and debt management. More detail of these and other publications is in later pages.
I was, from 2004-13, an independent non-executive director on the Board of Euroclear UK & Ireland Ltd (EUI), the UK settlement system for government bonds and equities. Over this period I was also on, and latterly chair of, EUI's Audit and Risk Committee.
A detailed CV is available.