Sir Callum McCarthy (born 29 February 1944) is the former chairman of the

Financial Services Authority The Financial Services Authority (FSA) was a quasi-judicial body accountable for the regulation of the financial services industry in the United Kingdom between 2001 and 2013. It was founded as the Securities and Investments Board (SIB) in 1985 ...

. He is also the former non-executive chairman of Promontory Financial Group's UK affiliate.

Early life and education

McCarthy attended

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a highly Selective school, selective Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom, private day school for boys aged 7-18 in Manchester, England, which was founded in 1515 by Hugh Oldham (then Bishop of Exeter). ...

, then graduated in history from

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

. He also has a PhD in economics from Stirling University and an MS from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, where he was a Sloan Fellow.

Career

McCarthy has held various high-profile private sector and government regulatory positions: *1965 – Economics researcher at chemical corporation ICI for seven years on graduating in 1965. *1972–85 – Several posts at the Department of Trade and Industry including Principal Private Secretary to

Roy Hattersley Roy Sydney George Hattersley, Baron Hattersley, (born 28 December 1932) is a British politician, author and journalist from Sheffield. A member of the Labour Party, he was MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook for over 32 years from 1964 to 1997, and ...

when he was Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection and to

Norman Tebbit Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit, (born 29 March 1931) is a British retired politician. A member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1981 to 1987 as Secretary of State for Employment (1981–1 ...

when he was Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. *1985 – Director of Corporate Finance at investment bank

Kleinwort Benson Kleinwort Benson was a leading investment bank that offered a wide range of financial services from offices throughout the United Kingdom and Channel Islands. Two families, the Kleinworts and the Bensons, founded two different merchant banks in ...

*1989 – managing director and Deputy Head of Corporate Finance of

Barclays Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

' investment banking arm, BZW. McCarthy later become chief executive officer of

Barclays Bank Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

group operations in Japan before moving to head the Bank's businesses in North America. *September 1998 – Appointed by

Peter Mandelson Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, (born 21 October 1953) is a British politician, lobbyist and diplomat who has served as British Ambassador to the United States since February 2025. A member of the Labour Party, Mandelson serve ...

to become Director-General of the gas regulator Ofgas. *1999 – Chief Executive of new energy super-regulator

Ofgem The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) is the government regulator for the electricity and downstream natural gas markets in Great Britain. It was formed by the merger of the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER) and Office of G ...

, where he oversaw the introduction of greater competition into the gas and electricity markets *September 2003 – Chairman of the

(FSA) *October 2008 – Non-executive board member of

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury or HMT), and informally referred to as the Treasury, is the Government of the United Kingdom’s economic and finance ministry. The Treasury is responsible for public spending, financial services policy, Tax ...

*Current – Non-executive chairman of Castle Trust

Personal life

Married with three children, he is a keen

beekeeper A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees, a profession known as beekeeping. The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees in beehives, boxes, or other receptacles. The beekeeper does not control the creatures. The beekeeper ow ...

In popular culture

In the 2011 film ''

Too Big to Fail "Too big to fail" (TBTF) is a theory in banking and finance that asserts that certain corporations, particularly financial institutions, are so large and so interconnected with an economy that their failure would be disastrous to the greater e ...

'', McCarthy is played by actor George Taylor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Callum 1944 births Living people British bankers Stanford Graduate School of Business alumni People educated at Manchester Grammar School Stanford Sloan Fellows Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Knights Bachelor Fellows of Merton College, Oxford