Alex Chisholm
Sir Alex Chisholm Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | |
---|---|
In office 5 September 2016 – 14 April 2020 | |
Prime Minister | Theresa May Boris Johnson |
Minister | Greg Clark Andrea Leadsom Alok Sharma |
Preceded by | Martin Donnelly |
Succeeded by | Sarah Munby |
Personal details | |
Born | 2 January 1968 |
Children | Aidan Chisholm, Ciarán Chisholm, Gabriel Chisholm |
Alma mater | Merton College, Oxford INSEAD |
Sir Alexander James Chisholm
He was previously the permanent secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from September 2016 to April 2020 and permanent secretary at the Department for Energy and Climate Change during 2016. Chisholm was previously the chief executive of the United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority and chair of the Irish Commission for Communications Regulation, and has held senior positions in the media, technology and e-commerce industries.
Early life and education
Alex Chisholm was born on 2 January 1968 in London to parents Ian Duncan Chisholm and Annabel Chisholm.[1] His father was a consultant psychiatrist and his mother was a daughter of James Bryan George Hennessy, 2nd Baron Windlesham.[2][3] He was privately educated at Downside School before studying history at Merton College, Oxford and a Master of Business Administration degree at INSEAD.[4][1]
Early career
Chisholm began work as a civil servant in 1990, working at the Department of Trade and Industry and Office of Fair Trading (OFT) until 1997.[1] He specialised in competition policy and the media, communications and financial services sectors.
He then worked for three years for
In 2007 Chisholm was appointed as a commissioner of the Commission for Communications Regulation in Ireland, becoming its chair in February 2010.[6] He left the role to become the first chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the United Kingdom, with his appointment announced on 8 January 2013.[7] The CMA was formally launched on 1 October 2013 and became fully operational on 1 April 2014. It brought together the most of the responsibilities of the former OFT and the former Competition Commission. Chisholm, after taking up his post, was responsible for merging these two bodies and streamlining their operations.[8]
In 2014, the CMA began an inquiry into the banking sector, which was opposed by major banks.
Permanent secretary roles
Chisholm was appointed as permanent secretary to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in 2016, and continued as permanent secretary for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) after it was created nine days later in September 2016 by merging DECC and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.[15][16] His appointment was criticised by OVO Energy founder Stephen Fitzpatrick who said that a CMA inquiry into the energy industry that was run while he was chief executive was "subjected to lobbying from the big six" that resulted in reforms that The Times described as "watered down".[17] The review opposed the introduction of energy price caps, which BEIS introduced in 2019 while Chisholm was its permanent secretary.[18][19]
In April 2020 he was appointed as chief operating officer of the civil service and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, succeeding John Manzoni who had served as chief executive of the civil service and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary. The role, as the civil service's "second in command", includes leading reform of the civil service and advising on the COVID-19 pandemic.[20][21][22] He began the new role on 14 April 2020.[23] In February 2024 it was announced that Chisholm would be succeeded by Cat Little.[24]
Chisholm was appointed
Personal life
Chisholm married Eliza Pakenham, daughter of Thomas Pakenham and granddaughter of Frank Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, in 1993.[1][26] They have three sons and live in London.[1] He has been a trustee of Breadline Africa, an international charity, since 2003, and served as its deputy chair.[1][6]
Notes
- ^ Manzoni served as Chief Executive of the Civil Service
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ "Ian Duncan Chisholm | RCP Museum". history.rcplondon.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ Burke's Peerage, Windlesham.
- ^ a b Department for Business, Innovation & Skills press release, 8 January 2013.
- ^ Sandy Mitchell, Meetings with remarkable bulbs, The Daily Telegraph, 11 September 2004 (accessed on 11 February 2013).
- ^ a b "Alex Chisholm". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ^ "New competition authority completes leadership team – Press releases". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ^ How we are revitalising the magic of markets to drive the growth we need, Alex Chisholm, 3 April 2014, CityAm [1]
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ "Competition regulator backs scrapping of rail franchises". The Guardian. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ "BEIS perm sec responds after staff raise concerns over new department's identity". civilserviceworld.com. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ "Interview: BEIS perm sec Alex Chisholm on merging DECC and BIS, the Industrial Strategy, and the Brexit challenge". civilserviceworld.com. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ Peachey, Kevin (1 January 2019). "Energy price cap comes into force". BBC News. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ "Chisholm named civil service chief operating officer to lead new reform drive". civilserviceworld.com. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ "Ex-officials with experience of crises recalled to Whitehall". The Guardian. 30 March 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ Payne, Sebastian (30 March 2020). "Senior civil servant chosen to oversee Whitehall reforms". Financial Times. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ "The Cabinet Secretary has appointed Cat Little as the new Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office". GOV.UK. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ^ "No. 64082". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2023. p. B3.
- ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 21 April 2020.