London Metal Exchange Chairman Gay Huey Evans is stepping down as the exchange continues to grapple with the fallout from the crisis in its nickel market last year.
(Bloomberg) — London Metal Exchange Chairman Gay Huey Evans is stepping down as the exchange continues to grapple with the fallout from the crisis in its nickel market last year.
Huey Evans will not seek re-election and will step down once a new chair has been appointed, the exchange said in a statement, without giving a reason for her departure. She will continue to support the board and the executive during the transition, after which she will become a senior adviser to the commodities business of LME owner Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd.
The announcement marks the most senior departure since the nickel crisis last March, when the exchange responded to a runaway short squeeze by closing the market for a week and controversially canceling billions of dollars worth of trades. It comes ahead of the planned publication next week of an independent review into the crisis.
The 146-year-old LME has been lambasted by investors for its handling of the crisis, with Citadel Securities founder Ken Griffin describing it as “one of the worst days in my professional career in terms of watching the behavior of an exchange.” The LME is being sued in London by hedge fund Elliott Investment Management and trading firm Jane Street.
The market is also awaiting the conclusions of regulatory investigations by the Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England into the governance, market oversight and risk management of the LME and its clearinghouse. The exchange has commissioned its own review of the crisis, which it said last month would be published on or about Jan. 10.
Huey Evans was appointed chairman of the LME in 2019 after a 30-year career in finance that included roles at the Financial Services Authority and the Financial Reporting Council. She also sits on the boards of Standard Chartered Plc and S&P Global Inc.
The LME also announced the appointment of two new independent non-executive directors, Martin Fraenkel and Pierre Vareille. The FCA said in April that the exchange had agreed to add new directors to strengthen its governance. They will join the board subject to FCA approval.
(Updates with additional background.)
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