WORLD TRADERS - Key Persons
Edwina started her career in academia, before switching to that ever-admired profession, journalism. She was Diplomatic Editor of The Economist until 2010, having worked at the paper since 1980. During that time, she covered a wide range of foreign-policy and international-security issues.
Edwina is a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of World Traders. She has served on the European Advisory Group of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, been a member of the Ditchley Programme Committee and served on the Councils or Advisory Councils of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Life at Christ Church, Oxford, and Wilton Park. She has previously served also as Director, Trustee and Chairman of Trustees of VERTIC, an NGO working in treaty verification. She was a member of the Advisory Group for the then FCO/DfID Know-How Fund for the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
A Mancunian by birth, Edwina has lived in London for more than 40 years, becoming involved in the Livery only after leaving journalism. She was educated at Bradford University (BA, German and Russian), Strathclyde University (MSc, Political Science) and Glasgow University (PhD, Soviet and East European Studies). She was a Harkness Fellow 1976-78, spending two years as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at MIT's Center for International Studies (and in the process learning, among other useful things, how to calculate the kill-probability of a missile re-entry vehicle on her ladies' slide rule). On returning to the UK, she was appointed Lecturer in Soviet Politics and Comparative Communist Government at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, before joining The Economist. In addition to her journalism, she has in the dim and distant past written, edited and co-edited a number of books and other publications.
Edwina was appointed OBE by Queen Elizabeth. She also holds an Honorary Doctorate of the University from the University of Birmingham.
Jack has held a variety of high level roles in the City, including Economist, Phillips & Drew (now UBS); Bond broker, W Greenwell & Co (now HSBC); Business Development Director, J.P. Morgan Futures Inc.; Director, Citifutures (Sales & Marketing arm Director of futures and options broking at Citibank), later sold to ABN Amro; Chairman, ABN Amro Futures Ltd; Founder Director CISI and FOA, Member Authorisation Committee and Enforcement Committee, financial regulator SFA: Founder & Chairman of London's Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE) (now Ice/NYSE/EuronextLIFFE).
He was Chair of the Policy Group OMFIF and Chairman of LOPPEX.
His charitable interests include Chair of the Hackney Education Action Zone.
Jack's clubs include Athenaeum and the City of London Club and his other interests include travel, reading, Su Dokus, music, gardening, walking, debating, driving, odd jobs, radio and TV.
He is married to Carlota.
Lars grew up in Norway, reading economics at a French university and completing a tri-lingual MBA in Paris-Oxford-Berlin. He then moved to London to work in finance, mostly technology mergers & acquisitions and insurance.
In 2004, Lars founded My Nametags, a company that makes iron on and sticker name labels for children's clothes and equipment. It received a Queen's Award for International Trade for selling labels to 130 countries, from the then Prince Charles in 2018.
Lars was admitted as a Freeman of the World Traders in 2004. In 2018, he organised the World Traders' Guinness World Record (the only one held by a Livery Company), bringing 84 nationalities together in a room to sing John Lennon's ‘Imagine' and ABBA's ‘Mamma Mia'.
In 2020-2021, Lars was Master of Entrepreneurs. He has been the Election Agent and helped with the Chain Appeals for a number of Sheriffs, and Chairs the Unmuteables Past Master Association (20-21). He is a Committee member of Broad Street Ward Club.
Lars speaks 7 languages and as a Norwegian, is proud to be able to trace his ancestry back to one of the signatories of the Norwegian Constitution as well as to Harald Hardrada, Ragnar Lothbrok and other world-trading Vikings.
He enjoys time away from his businesses with his family. His wife, Jenifer, worked for a magic circle law firm before joining the nametags business. She is a Draper, Vice-Chairman of the City Consorts, and has written the book: "Domine Dirige Nos - an Introduction to the City of London".
Lars has two daughters, one of whom won Henley Rowing Regatta and the other has received a BEM in the Queen's New Years Honours list, aged 18. All his family is musical, to compensate for his complete lack of any musical ability. Lars also enjoys travelling, reading (particularly science fiction & history), eating at good restaurants, fly fishing and skiing. He owns a forest in Norway that yields sustainable wood and the odd elk steak.
Job Titles:
- Member of the University of Nottingham Globalisation
Mei Sim is a member of the University of Nottingham Globalisation and Economic Policy (GEP) Strategic Advisory Board as well as a Visiting Professor at London Metropolitan University.
Wendy Hyde was elected to the Court of Common Council in the City of London in November 2011, representing the Ward of Bishopsgate.
Prior to that, she had spent the majority of her career at the Bank of England, most recently setting up the London Region Agency. The role of the Agencies is to report to the Monetary Policy Committee on economic conditions as seen by businesses and related organisations in their region. Previously she had spent 20 years as a banking regulator, working with institutions ranging from small deposit taking companies to large retail banks as well as a number of foreign banks operating in London. This included travelling abroad to visit the head offices of foreign banks, overseas subsidiaries of UK banks and negotiating with overseas regulatory authorities.
After retiring from the Bank of England, Wendy spent some time working with the manufacturing organisation EEF as Head of External Affairs - London, visiting members to identify their concerns and helping to deal with issues on a regional and national level.
Wendy became a freeman of the World Traders in December 2002. She is a Trustee of the World Traders Charitable Trust. She has previously chaired the Membership Committee and been a member of the Finance and Events Committees.
Mr Hugh Bryan Greville Montgomery was born on 26 March 1929. His occupation was in International Exhibitions & Consultancy and his company Andry Montgomery Ltd
He joined the World Traders' Company on 1 September 1986 having been introduced by Mr Peter Drew. He was clothed as a liverymen on 16 March 2000, having received the Freedom of the Company on 16 December 1993, and the Freedom of the City of London on 25 September 1952.
He is also a member of the Tylers' & Bricklayers' Company.
Mr David Watt was born on 4 January 1933 and is married to Carol. His occupation was in Management Services and his company Delsol Products Ltd.
He joined the World Traders' Company on 1 April 1991 having been introduced by Mr Peter Drew. He was clothed as a liveryman on 13 July 2000, having received the Freedom of the Company on 10 September 1993 and the Freedom of the City of London on 16 January 1980.
He was also a member of the Environmental Cleaners' Company.
He passed away on 15 September 2010.
Mr Eric St Clair Stobart was born on 12 September 1948 and is married to Virginia.
His occupation was Banker and his company Lloyds TSB plc
He joined the World Traders' Company on July 9, 1998 having been introduced by Mr Nigel Pullman. He was clothed as a liveryman on March 16, 2000, having received the Freedom of the Company on 7 October 1998, and the Freedom of the City of London on 12 July 12 1991. He is also a member of the Chartered Accountants' Company and Guild of International Bankers.
A chartered accountant and graduate of London Business School, he has worked in the City for the past 34 years, as a chartered accountant, merchant banker and most recently a commercial banker. He has also lived in Australia and travelled in the Far East, Africa and North America extensively on both business and pleasure. Eric is married with a 20 year old daughter, who is currently at Newcastle University, and lives in Wimbledon with a weekend house in Dorset. His interests include football, skiing, walking and vintage commercial vehicles.
Mr Eric Frank Tracey was born on 3 July 1948 and is married to Patricia. His occupation was Chartered Accountant and his company Deloitte.
He joined the World Traders' Company on 1 April 1991 having been introduced by Mr George Capon. He was clothed as a liverymen on 16 March 2000, having received the Freedom of the Company on 27 April 1994, and the Freedom of the City of London on 8 December 1999.
His roots are in New Zealand. In 1973 he came to London with his wife, Patricia, planning only to stay two years. When he is not working or watching rugby or cricket or playing the latter (including in 2004 acting as 12th man for The Black Caps, the New Zealand national team), he spends time in his garden in Wiltshire, walking in the countryside and visiting local hostelries, and supporting local artists and sculptors by collecting unusual objets d'art.
Following nearly twenty five years as a partner in Deloitte & Touche in London he began a second career as a financial troubleshooter who joins companies to help achieve specific shareholder value driven objectives. These have included Amey plc, where as the Acting Finance Director, he steered the company to a successful takeover and Wembley PLC where he managed major litigation, the reorganisation and planning of businesses and an efficient return of capital to shareholders. He has also taken up non executive roles at Chloride Group, Goodenough College, the advisory board of Governance 4 Owners and as chairman of an advisory board for NZ Trade & Enterprise.
Previously at Deloitte he had been the leader of the firm's European Energy, Infrasrtucture & Utilities practice and prior to that the head of one of the audit operating groups. His clients there included such household names as Amstrad, BAA, the Civil Aviation Authority, Chubb Security, National Air Traffic Services, Taylor Woodrow and Railtrack Group.
Mr George Cecil Charles Capon was born on 2 August 1932 and is married to Ursula.
His profession was Chartered Accountant and his company Deloitte Touche, where he was a partner.
He joined the World Traders' Company on 1 October 1985 having been introduced by Mr Peter Drew. He was clothed as a liverymen on 16 March 2000, having received the Freedom of the Company on 10 September 1993, and the Freedom of the City of London on 8 October 1981. He is also a Wheelwright.
Graham Bishop was born in 1949 and moved to India when he was five, then Northern Ireland until he was 11 and then attended Strode's Grammar School in Surrey. He graduated from Sheffield University in 1972 with a degree in Jurisprudence. He married in 1974 and had two sons. After divorce, he married Sally in 1992 and acquired a step-daughter and son.
He worked for UK stockbrokers, Phillips & Drew, as an international economist with particular reference to equity markets. In 1979, he joined S G Warburg to manage pension fund portfolios. His emphasis moved from European equity markets to bonds and currencies, culminating in a move to Salomon Brothers/Citigroup in 1983.
Graham's publications, articles and speeches on the deregulation of Europe's financial markets provide an informed commentary from the practical perspective of a market participant, but with a sound understanding of politics. Initially, his economic commentaries covered the bond and currency markets of Europe. This was followed by Citigroup research on the issues surrounding monetary union after it became a serious possibility in 1988. In 2000, he founded GrahamBishop.com to bring insights directly to his clients based on this standing as a leading technical analyst of economic and structural developments in the financial markets of Europe.
The deregulation of Europe's financial markets due to the Single Market programme and EMU created business and investment opportunities and he has worked extensively with both European and UK political authorities to deliver sound insights to his clients.
Graham was a member of the Commission's Consultative Group on the Impact of the Euro on Capital Markets (the Giovaninni Group). He was also a Member of the Commission's Strategy Group on Financial Services (1998 - creating the Financial Services Action Plan) and the Committee of Independent Experts on the preparation of the changeover to the single currency (1994/5).
He was nominated by the European Parliament to be one of its two members of the first Inter-Institutional Monitoring Group, as foreseen by the Lamfalussy Report, and was Rapporteur for the spring 2003 and November 2004 Reports. He was elected to the Board of Kangaroo Group in November, 2005 and re-elected in 2007
At the House of Commons, Graham was a Special Advisor to the Treasury Select Committee in its examination in 2003 of the implications for United Kingdom membership of the Single Currency. He advised the Treasury Committee on the corresponding reports in 1998 and 1996.
In the House of Lords, he was a Specialist Adviser to the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Union in its 2003 inquiry into The Barriers to Competition in the Internal Market for Financial Services.
In his other activities, he is Council Member of the Federal Trust and a member of the European League for Economic Co-operation (ELEC). He frequently participates in studies and meetings of research institutes such as Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation (CSFI).
In the political world, he moved from the Conservative Party to the Liberal Democrats in 2005 to support greater involvement in the EU, and became Chairman of the Bexhill and Battle local party in 2009. He has participated in party working groups on both the EU and globalisation.
John was born in the City of London in 1946, so he may be a Cockney! Educated in Chichester and Warminster, after a brief sojourn in the Patent Office, he first joined the Territorial Army (Parachute Regiment RAOC) and then the Royal Marines in 1964. He was commissioned in 1966 and served, amongst other places, in Aden (45 Commando), the Asia (42 Commando) and after a little time in the UK, was attached to the Ethiopian Marines in Eritrea, then seconded to the Sultan's Armed Forces in Oman. He went on to command the Platoon Commanders Division at the Army's School of Infantry, then after a brief tour in Northern Ireland with 41 Commando left the Corps in 1979.
Civvy Street was no less lively! After working in South London and Bristol for four years with a firm of stationers and paper merchants, John joined De La Rue. He held senior positions in international business including banking electronics, biometrics, currency and security printing, travelling from Chile to China and all stops in between. During that time he lived for two years in Bahrain. He speaks Arabic.
Leaving De La Rue in 2004, he decided that early retirement was not on the agenda. He founded Interchange Solutions in 2006 which helps organisations to mitigate corruption risk. In 2009 John gave evidence to the Joint Parliamentary Committee considering the draft Bribery Bill (now the Bribery Act 2010).
John is a member of the Fraud Advisory Panel; an Associate Member of the Institute of Risk Management; a Member of the Chartered Management Institute and a Middle East consultant/trainer to both Farnham Castle and Canning School.
Since becoming a World Trader in April 2003, John has worked closely with the City of London Red Cross and in particular the Christmas Market. He also joined a brilliant team of World Traders, led by Freeman Hon causa Pat Alston ONZM, in the organisation of the 2008 London Bridge Sheep Drive which raised more than £50,000 for the Lord Mayor's Appeal.
John is married to Anna, author and entrepreneur; they have one daughter Maria and three sons, a daughter from previous marriages and grandchildren. John's idea of fun is riding his motorcycle, wherever and whenever!
Mr John Lawrence Stace was born on 7 July 1948 and is married to Rosamond Mary Williams (29.10.1971)
John joined the World Traders' Company on 1 July 1992 having been introduced by Lord Denman. He was clothed as a liveryman on March 16, 2000, having received the Freedom of the Company on 10 September 10, and the Freedom of the City of London on 2 February 1994.
He received his education at Nelson College in New Zealand and has three children, Richard, Caroline and Susan who are all married.
John's roles have included Executive Vice Chairman, Amlin plc; Non-Executive Director of Edward Lumley Holdings Limited and Frontiers Group Limited; Chairman Lloyd's Charities Trust; Past Deputy Chairman at Lloyd's of London and Lloyd's Market Board. He is a Past Member Lloyd's Regulatory Board and Past Chairman of Lloyd's Members Services Unit.
His voluntary Activities: Trustee, The Tank Museum, Bovington; Chairman, Fundraising Board, Tank Museum; Deputy Chairman, The LINK Foundation for UK New Zealand relations.
John is a Member of the City of London Club; Burnham and Berrow Golf Club; The Wellington Club, New Zealand; the Wellington Golf Club, New Zealand; Steenberg Golf Club, Cape Town, South Africa; Somerset County Cricket Club. He enjoys farming and has raised Pedigree Herefords in Somerset.
Job Titles:
- Trustee of the British Safety Council
Mark was born in Pontypool, South Wales in 1953. He was educated at Poole Grammar School and King's College London where he read Law. He was appointed Deputy Lieutenant in Bedfordshire on 1 September 2018.
He qualified as a Solicitor in 1977 and after a brief spell at the British Railways Board he moved to Jersey in the Channel Islands to undertake offshore trust and company work. He returned to London to work in private practice as a corporate lawyer before moving into the pharmaceutical industry in 1992. Mark has held senior positions in the legal function, human resources and corporate development. In recent years he has specialised in managing the UCB Groups pension schemes and insurance matters in the UK. During his career Mark has travelled extensively particularly to the USA and Canada.
Mark is a trustee of the British Safety Council, a school governor and President of Leighton Buzzard Rugby Club. His favourite past time is watching rugby.
Mark is married to Mary, a chartered accountant, who, after a career in internal audit and risk, now has a portfolio of non-executive appointments including being a Director of the Royal Navy and chairing its Audit Committee. She is also the Choirmaster of the World Traders' Choir.
Job Titles:
- Master
- Senior Managing Director of Harbert Management Corp
Michael Larsen is a Senior Managing Director of Harbert Management Corp, a U.S. based, privately-owned investment firm with an office in London. Prior to joining HMC in 2004 Michael held a variety of senior management roles in Europe and the Middle East, including 20 years with Citigroup/Citibank, returning to the UK in 2005. Michael is vice-chair at Aspire Academy Trust, a multi-academy trust comprising a group of 29 primary academies across Cornwall, where he also chairs the finance, audit and remuneration committees. In addition Michael is a member at Gatehouse Green Learning Trust, a multi-academy trust based in Bristol, and for the past four years has been an appointed member of the South-West England advisory board. He is also a member of the board of a US-based charity. Michael received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Boston University, is fluent in German and French, is registered with the UK Financial Conduit Authority and holds his FINRA/NASD Series 7 and 63 licences. When not doting on their grandson Michael and his wife Corinne spend an increasing amount of time at their residence in Cornwall.
Michael was born in 1945 in Yorkshire and was raised in Burgess Hill in Sussex where he has lived ever since.
He joined Ditchling Press in 1963 as a management trainee working with PA Management Consultants on the implementation of an incentive scheme and for the next three years with slide rule and stop watch in hand spent many a daunting day measuring and studying work patterns on the shop floor. In 1977 having reached Board level within the company, he decided to go it alone and started his own business in Hove that eventually grew into Walden Communications Group with businesses in London as well as on the south coast.
In 1991 having decided to centre business activities in London only, Michael became involved in City life by becoming a member of Tower Ward Club and eventually becoming Master in 2000-2001. He is also a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Bowyers. In 1996 while in conversation with the Clerk at the time, John Norman, Michael was introduced to the Worshipful Company of World Traders. In the City he is also a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspapermakers and a member of the City Livery Club and also Bishopsgate Ward Club. He is also a member of the Army and Navy Club (RAG) as a non military member reflecting a keen interest in the history of both World Wars and family connections and involvement in those times.
He has a wide range of interests in the sporting world, including swimming, athletics and cycle racing. A keen sailor, he enjoys offshore yacht racing and competing in events such as the Fastnet Race. He also enjoys golf, cricket and rugby.
Michael married Carol Cameron in 1966 and they have two children, Emma, born 1972, who after graduating from UCL joined NYK Shipping in the City and Andrew, born 1975 who is currently Art Director of Wallpaper* magazine the international arts magazine published by IPC. The family was recently enlarged by the arrival of a grand daughter, Ella, born to Emma and her husband Ivan in February. Carol retired from banking in 2005 and is currently a director of the local Age Concern.
Peter has had an interest in the City since he started at IBM Basinghall Street in 1972. Interestingly, one of his first presentations at IBM was on the Livery Companies. Little did he know then how involved he would become with the Livery movement!
Growing up in Hampton, Middlesex, Peter was educated at Orleans Secondary School, Thames Valley Grammar School and Twickenham Technical College. Recently he spent a year at SOAS part time learning Arabic in 2014.
After a brief foray into retail banking and the operations side of IT management, he joined IBM in the City. During his twenty years at IBM, he held several Business Support and management roles. One highlight was being on the replacement pan-European fulfilment system, valued at UD$ 500M, as a user manager for the UK.
In October 1992 he left IBM to set up a consultancy business. He remains Director of the same company with his partner Paul. Initial clients were Prudential and Key Finance, a residual investment leasing company.
Mr Peter Bowring was born on 22 April 1923 and was married to Carole. He was Chairman of C.T.Bowring & Co (and became Vice-Chairman of Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc when that company took over his.
He joined the World Traders' Company on 1 October 1985 having been a founding member of the Guild. He was clothed as a liveryman on 16 March 2000, having received the Freedom of the Company on 16 December 1993, and the Freedom of the City of London on 15 May 1979. He was also a Freeman of The Company of Watermen and Lightermen.
Mr Peter Wildblood was born on 28 August 1936 and sadly passed away in November 2017. He was married to Brenda.
He was a professional soldier before taking up a successful career as CEO of the International Petroleum Exchange. Past Master Jack Wigglesworth who worked in a similar role as Chairman of LIFFE, the London International Financial Futures Exchange, said of Peter: "The amazing thing about Peter was his modesty, despite his great success. He developed a major international futures and options market for energy products and was responsible for the benchmark Brent Crude index, whose price is quoted continuously around the world in all newspapers and other media. We have lost a very great World Trader."
Past Master John Stace comments: "A wise man with vast international experience and great integrity. He was also modest and humble, with many achievements that were considerable but never trumpeted."
World Trader Wendy Drew and Sue Hughes, the Company's first female Master cited Peter's exceptional organisation of a banquet at the newly restored Queen's House during his year as Master. The banquet was an appropriate celebration of the new millennium and the evolution of the Company.
Peter joined the World Traders' Company on 1 July 1989 having been introduced by Mr Antony Rucker. He was clothed as a liveryman on 16 March 2000, having received the Freedom of the Company on 14 September 1994, and the Freedom of the City of London on 13 July 1998.
Mr William Nicholas Algar King was born on Thu, Jul 29, 1937 and is married to Carole.
He joined the World Traders' Company on Monday, July 1, 1996 having been introduced by Rev Peter Delaney. He was clothed as a liveryman on Thursday, March 16, 2000, having received the Freedom of the Company on Wednesday, July 10, 1996, and the Freedom of the City of London on Monday, July 13, 1998.
He is also a liveryman of the Tallow Chandlers' Company.
William King, son of a City Merchant, was born in London in 1937, educated at St John's School Leatherhead, commissioned in 1956 into the South Lancashire Regiment. He was seconded to the Parachute Regiment, and saw service in Cyprus and the Arabian Gulf. On his return to his parent Regiment he saw service in Aden and Northern Ireland.
In 1978 he joined the City security printing firm of Greenaways, then a subsidiary of Lonhro Plc, in the City Division. In 1980 he joined the Sugar Association of London who are responsible for the management of the supervision and sampling of all raw sugar in the United Kingdom and for the rules and regulations of the Association, which provide for the proper conduct of the International Sugar Trade, including international arbitration hearings.
In 1981 while still working for the Sugar Association he was appointed Secretary to the Federation of Commodity Associations and a member of the City Communications Committee and the City Information Liaison Committee. He worked closely with the City Polytechnic Short Course Unit and the City University in organizing commodity training programmes for the European Commission and International Training Centre of the United Nations in Geneva. In 1986 he joined the Federation of Oils, Seeds and Fats Associations (FOSFA) with special responsibility for developing trade education. For the next 19 years was Course Director of their international trade education programme. At this time FOSFA was developing internationally acceptable standards of superintending and analysis for bulk cargoes of edible oilseeds, oils and fats, and groundnuts. William became Secretary of the Federation's Technical committee and was closely involved in the formation and expansion of FOSFA's worldwide network of accredited Member Analysts and Superintendents from 38 in 1986 to over 350 by the time he retired in 2002.
From 1992 until 2001 he was Secretary to the Oils and Fats Technical Committee of the International Standards Organisation based in Geneva and in April 2001 the British Standards Institution presented him with their Distinguished Service Award for his work with the development of British, European and International standards.
William is an external lecturer and examiner at London Metropolitan University and has been associated with the MSc International Trade and Transport since its launch in 1995. In recognition of his contribution he was awarded an honorary Master's Degree in Science from London Guildhall University in December 2002. Since 2002 he has been an educational consultant to various international organizations.
In 2002 he was elected Chairman of the Business Houses Council of All Hallows by the Tower. His interests are shared with his wife Carole and include gardening, a passionate love of the countryside, and in nature conservation. They live in Haslemere, Surrey where they are both active supporters of the local community. William has one son Oliver, who is a political editor.
Job Titles:
- Clerk
- Clerk / the Worshipful Company
Gaye was appointed Clerk to the Company in October 2008.
After working for a number of years in various legal firms she gave up work on the birth of her first son. Her career in the livery began when she started to look for a part-time job. A close friend was secretary to the Master of the Solicitors' Company whose elderly Clerk was looking for assistance a couple of days a week.
When her youngest son started full-time school Gaye decided to look for a Clerkship in her own right and was appointed Clerk to the Marketors' Company (of which she is an Honorary Liveryman) where she served for 12 years before her appointment as Clerk to the World Traders.
She is a member of the Fellowship of Clerks, of which she was President in 2003-04, an Honorary Liveryman of the Arbitrators' Company and is a former member of the Livery Committee.
Mary qualified as a chartered accountant with what is now EY where she spent nineteen years, the last eight as an audit partner. This was followed by a career in internal audit and risk management with Diageo, Transport for London and LOCOG (the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games).
She has now retired from full-time roles and is currently a non-executive member of the Board and chairs the Audit and Risk Committees of the Oil and Gas Authority, Sensyne Health plc and CABA (the Chartered Accountants Benevolent Association). She is also a member of the Audit and Risk Committee of the Commonwealth Games Federation and sits on the Board of its joint venture, the Commonwealth Games Federation Partnerships Limited. She was recently appointed to the Audit and Finance Committee of World Athletics. She has previously been a member of the Audit and Risk Committees of the Ministry of Defence, HM Treasury and the ICAEW and was on the Board and chaired the Audit and Risk Committee of the Royal Navy. She is an Honorary Commander in the Royal Naval Reserve.
Mary became involved in World Traders in the mid-1990s through her husband, Mark, initially by attending events as his guest. In 1999 she took on the task of setting up the Choir, urged on by former Clerk, Nigel Pullman. She was made an Honorary Freeman in 2005 in recognition of her contribution to the Company via the Choir, and then became a Liveryman in her own right in 2015 at the end of Mark's year as Master. She joined the Finance & Risk Committee in September 2016, taking over as Chair in October 2018. She was elected to the Court in January 2018.
After reading PPE at Oxford Sue spent two years in Kenya as a VSO, working in a small rural school, and living in a hut with no electricity and minimal facilities. This experience left her with a lifelong interest in development issues, in which trade plays a vital role. Returning to the UK, she spent a year in inner-city youth work before entering the teaching profession. She taught Economics and Government and Politics to Sixth Formers for many years, both in the private and state sectors. She went on to work in an international school in Singapore teaching Economics in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB). As Academic Advisor, she also developed the school's university entrance programme for universities worldwide. Back in the UK she joined St Dunstan's College where she lead the delivery of the IB Diploma Programme . As a Secretary of the National Steering Committee of the IB Schools and Colleges Association she visited schools and advised governing bodies and teaching staff on the implementation of the IB Diploma Programme.
It was during her time at St Dunstan's College that Sue became interested in the Livery movement and particularly in the Worshipful Company of World Traders. Past Master Sir Roger Cork had been Chair of Governors at one time and through this connection she was invited to the Tacitus lecture. Joining the Company in 2006, Sue was subsequently asked to be a member of, and then chair the Education and Charity Committee and to join the Court. She has used these roles to help the Company to develop more meaningful links with state schools.
Now retired, Sue is currently Master of the World Traders Company and a lay minister in the Church of England. She is married to Richard, a Civil Engineer, and they have lived in Oman and Western Australia as well as Singapore. They now live outside Guildford and have three grown up children and six grandchildren. Sue enjoys opera, reading, having friends to dinner, country walks and the occasional game of golf.
Robert spent his childhood in Woodford, Essex, and attended St Ignatius' College, Stamford Hill. He then studied at the Universities of Poitiers, Barcelona and London (Birkbeck College) where he gained his BA Hons in Spanish. He is a proficient linguist.
His career has been in reinsurance, working both as broker and underwriter, including Membership of Lloyd's. Concentrating on the Third World, he founded the African Insurance Conference when working in Mauritius. After 20 years concentrating on Africa and the Middle East, he moved on to Central and Eastern Europe following the end of the Iron Curtain era, eventually becoming a Consultant to major Russian insurance companies.
With a keen involvement in politics, Robert has stood six times for Westminster and twice for the European Parliament. He is a member of the Bureau of Liberal International and a member of the Gresham Society Committee, promoting the free Lectures of the City's first University College
Married with one son, a City banker, Robert's hobbies include Forestry, Lowestoft porcelain and travel - he is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society who has visited 150 countries. He is a Council Member of Chatham House, a Board member of the British German Association and a Committee Member of the British German Association.
Alderman Sir Roger William Cork was born on 31 March 1947 and was married to Barbara, who pre-deceased him.
He died suddenly on 21 October 2002 from a heart attack. His profession was as a Chartered Accountant, and he served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1996-1997.
He joined the World Traders' Company on 1 October, 1985 having (like his father, Sir Kenneth) been a founding member of the Guild. He was clothed as a liveryman on 16 March, 2000, having received the Freedom of the Company on 16 December 1993, and the Freedom of the City of London on 18 February 1972.
He was also a member of the Bowyers' Company, and many others.