William Russell (Lord Mayor)

Sir
William Russell
Lord Mayor Russell in 2021
692nd Lord Mayor of London
In office
9 November 2019 – 13 November 2021
Preceded bySir Peter Estlin
Succeeded byVincent Keaveny
Personal details
Born
William Anthony Bowater Russell

(1965-04-15) 15 April 1965 (age 59)
London, England, United Kingdom
Spouse
Hilary Chaplin
​
(m. 1989)​
Children4
Alma materDurham University
OccupationInvestment banker

Sir William Anthony Bowater Russell (born 15 April 1965) is a British financier who served as the 692nd Lord Mayor of the City of London from 2019 to 2021.[1]

Biography

[edit]

Educated at Eton and Durham University, graduating B.A., Russell started his career in financial services at First Boston in 1987, and joined Merrill Lynch in 1992,[2] working in Hong Kong, New York and London, before leaving in 2006 for public service.[3][4]

Sheriff of the City of London for 2016–17, Russell was then elected Lord Mayor on 1 October 2019, taking office on 9 November 2019.[5][6] In view of the global disruption to public life brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, Russell was re-elected, on 29 September 2020, as Lord Mayor of London to serve a second term for 2021,[7] the first Lord Mayor to serve more than one term since William Cubitt, who was re-elected in 1861.[8] He is the fifth member of his family to have held this position.[9]

Russell represents Bread Street Ward as Alderman on the City of London Corporation since 2013.[10]

Russell is a Court Assistant to the Haberdashers' Company,[11] a Liveryman of the Feltmakers' and an Honorary Liveryman of the Paviors' Companies.[12]

He was knighted in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to "financial innovation, culture and wellbeing in the City of London, particularly during Covid-19".[13]

A keen cricketer, he is also a member of MCC,[14] and remains a member of the Advisory Board of Innovate Finance, an independent not-for-profit membership organisation serving the global FinTech community.[15]

Family

[edit]

The only son of Anthony Russell, a stockbroker, he is in remainder to the family baronetcy,[16] created for his great-great-uncle, Charles Russell, founder of the eponymous law firm.

His mother, Charlotte née Bowater, was from a Kentish family of paper packagers;[17] her father, Sir Ian Bowater GBE, was Lord Mayor of London for 1969–70, and his father Sir Frank Bowater, Lord Mayor for 1938–39.[5] Russell is the fifth member of his family to hold the position of Lord Mayor of London.[9]

British actor Damian Lewis is his maternal half-brother.[18][19]

In 1989, Russell married Hilary Chaplin: they have four children.

Honours

[edit]

Arms

[edit]
Coat of arms of William Russell
Crest
A Goat passant Argent armed Or charged on the body with three Trefoils slipped fesswise Vert
Helm
That of a Knight
Escutcheon
Argent a Lion rampant Gules on a chief Sable three Escallops of the field the whole within a Bordure engrailed Vert
Motto
Che sera sera
(Eng: What will be, will be)
Orders
Behind the Shield, the badge of St John and suspended below, by a ribbon, the insignia of a Knight Bachelor:
;
Other elements
As Lord Mayor, Russell could impale the City of London arms (dexter) with his family arms (sinister):

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Lord Mayor – City of London". Government of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 22 September 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  2. ^ www.bloomberg.com
  3. ^ "CV" (PDF). William Russell. September 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  4. ^ www.isaschools.org.uk
  5. ^ a b "Next Lord Mayor of the City elected". This is about: William Russell. 9 November 2019.
  6. ^ "The Lord Mayor-Elect". Lord Mayor's Show. 9 November 2019.
  7. ^ Pullman, Nigel (17 April 2020). "Guildhall last night confirmed that William Russell will now remain in office [as LM] until November 2021". liverycompanies.info. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  8. ^ "City of London plans 'back to work' week to revive Square Mile". Financial Times. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  9. ^ a b Thomas, Daniel (2 July 2021). "Secretive lord mayor of London election thrown into disarray". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  10. ^ "Member details – The Rt Hon. The Lord Mayor, Alderman William Anthony Bowater Russell". Government of the United Kingdom. 21 November 2019.
  11. ^ "Celebrating the Election of our Liveryman, Alderman William Russell, as Lord Mayor of London | The Haberdashers' Company". haberdashers.co.uk.
  12. ^ "Global UK: Trade, Innovation and Culture – City of London". Government of the United Kingdom.
  13. ^ "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N2.
  14. ^ www.cityam.com
  15. ^ "Innovate Finance – The Voice of Global FinTech". Innovate Finance – The Voice of Global FinTech.
  16. ^ Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 107th edn. 2003. p. 3442 (RUSSELL, Bt). ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
  17. ^ "Bio" (PDF).
  18. ^ "Damian Lewis". IMDb. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  19. ^ "Interview: Lord Mayor of London William Russell". London Evening Standard. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2020.

Additional reading

[edit]
Civic offices
Preceded by
Lord Mayor of London
2019–2021 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Russell_(Lord_Mayor)&oldid=1235921312"