Gay Huey Evans to step down as LME Chair
The London Metal Exchange (LME) announces that the LME Chair, Gay Huey Evans CBE, will not seek re-election and will step down once a new Chair has been appointed. She will continue to support the Board and the Executive during the transition, after which she will become a senior advisor to the HKEX commodities business.
Ms Huey Evans has worked within the finance and commodity industry for the past 30 years, as both an established market practitioner and regulator, giving her deep expertise across commerce, risk, governance, policy and regulation in capital markets. Awarded a CBE in 2021 for services to the economy and philanthropy, and an OBE in 2016 for services to financial services and diversity, Ms Huey Evans is a passionate advocate for ensuring markets build trust through accessibility and transparency and for increased diversity in business.
Ms Huey Evans has previously served on the Boards of IHS Markit, Itau BBA International, the Financial Reporting Council, Aviva and the London Stock Exchange and held executive roles with Barclays Capital, Citi, the Financial Services Authority and Bankers Trust.
The LME Board has begun a global search for a new Chair and will update the market in due course. The committee is made up of the LME Board Directors Nicolas Aguzin, Laura M Cha, Antony Stuart and John Williamson.
The LME also announces that, subject to FCA approval, two new independent non-executive directors, Martin Fraenkel and Pierre Vareille, will be appointed to the LME Board. They both bring deep industry expertise and considerable experience, and they will join the Board in Q1 2023.
Martin Fraenkel has had a diverse, broad international 40-year career in the commodities markets, holding roles across physical and financial markets. Most recently, he was President (CEO) of S&P Global Platts and a member of the Operating Committee of S&P Global Inc. Prior to that he was Managing Director, Global Head of Energy at CME Group. He was formerly Global Head of Commodities at Credit Agricole CIB and Managing Director and Global Head of Base Metals, Energy and Agriculture at JP Morgan Chase.
He holds a BA in PPE from the University of Oxford, an MA in International Affairs from The John Hopkins University and an MBA from INSEAD. He currently chairs the Boards of VAKT Global Ltd, a private blockchain business, and of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, a leading orchestra. He has previously served, among others, on the Boards of CRISIL Ltd, which is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, and on the London Bullion Market Association Ltd; and also chaired the London Gold Market Ltd.
Pierre Vareille has extensive experience of the metals sector both as an executive and non-executive, across the full value chain. He was formerly CEO of Constellium, a global aluminium products manufacturer; and Wagon, a car parts manufacturer. He previously worked for both Pechiney and Alcan, gaining in-depth experience of aluminium processing. He is currently Vice Chairman of the Board of Vallourec S.A. and Verallia S.A., both listed in France; and sits on the Board of Outokumpu, which is listed in Finland. From 2017 until 2019, he served on the Board of London-listed Ferroglobe, one of the world’s leading suppliers of silicon metal, silicon-based and manganese-based speciality alloys.
Pierre Vareille has a Masters in Engineering from the École Centrale Paris, and a Masters from the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris.