LONDON – The Financial Conduct Authority of Britain has added a former head of Britain’s Competition Commission and a former executive at Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers Holdings to its ranks as it looks to increase its expertise.
The agency said on Wednesday that it had appointed two senior advisers: David Saunders, who retired from the Competition Commission in March, and Gunner Burkhart, a former executive at Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm and Lehman.
“Both David and Gunner come with impressive experience in their respective areas, which will be a valuable resource for the teams as they look at competition and wholesale issues,” Martin Wheatley, the agency’s chief executive, said in a statement.
The Financial Conduct Authority, which began operation in 2013 after an overhaul of Britain’s financial regulatory system, has hired several former industry executives in the last year.
Mr. Saunders worked for more than 35 years in the British government’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and its predecessors. He became chief executive of the Competition Commission in 2009.
In addition to advising the Financial Conduct Authority in its new role as regulator of the payment services sector, he is expected to advise the agency’s competition department.
Mr. Burkhart, who most recently was a managing director at the Nomura Group, has more than 30 years experience in investment banking and asset management.
He worked for 15 years at Goldman Sachs and was the co-leader of its European equities business. He joined Deutsche Asset Management in 2001 as global head of trading and broker relationship management and joined Lehman in 2004 as managing director of senior relationship management in Europe.