Stuart Godfrey Popham, (born July 1954) is a British lawyer. A former senior partner at

Clifford Chance Clifford Chance LLP is a British multinational law firm headquartered in London, England, and a member of the " Magic Circle", a group of leading London-based multinational law firms. In 2022-2023 Clifford Chance was the third largest law fir ...

, he is the vice chairman of EMEA Banking at

Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, t ...

. He is a

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

and the former chairman of

Chatham House The Royal Institute of International Affairs, also known as Chatham House, is a British think tank based in London, England. Its stated mission is "to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world". It ...

Early life

Stuart Godfrey Popham was born in July 1954. He was educated at

Reed's School Reed's School is an independent secondary school, secondary day school, day and boarding school for boys with a co-educational sixth form located in Cobham, Surrey, England. There are currently around 700 day pupils (620 boys, 80 girls) and 1 ...

, leaving in 1972. Subsequently, he received a law degree from the Southampton Law School at the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

, graduating in 1975.

Career

Popham joined the law firm

in 1976. He was a partner from 1984 to 2003, and a senior partner from 2003 to 2011. He became a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 2011. He has served as the vice chairman of EMEA Banking at

since 1 July 2012. Popham serves as the chairman of

. He also serves on the advisory council of

TheCityUK TheCityUK is a private-sector membership body and industry advocacy group promoting the financial services, financial and related professional services industry of the United Kingdom (UK). TheCityUK is often referred to as the industry's "most po ...

. He was chairman of the board of trustees of the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...

until July 2022. He is also an independent governor of

Birkbeck, University of London Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a Public university, public research university located in London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London. Establ ...

. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the

University of South Wales The University of South Wales (USW) () is a public university in Wales, with campuses in Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd. It was formed on 11 April 2013 from the merger of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wales, Newport. The ...

in 2013. With his wife, he is a donor to the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London, England, and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings a ...

. In February 2015, Popham argued that Brexit would make London less attractive to the financial services.

Personal life

Popham resides in

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

with his wife, Carolyn, and three children. He is a yachtsman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popham, Stuart 1954 births Living people Alumni of the University of Southampton Chatham House people Citigroup people Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Honorary King's Counsel People from Chichester People educated at Reed's School