Tributes paid to 'remarkable' pensions body chairman
The chairman of the The Pensions Advisory Service has died – prompting tributes to the "remarkable man".
David Harker, also an FCA board member and non-executive director since its inception in 2013, passed away on Monday, the FCA has announced.
The regulator said it was "with deep sadness" it had to publish the news about Mr Harker, who was also former chief executive of the Citizens Advice Bureau.
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John Griffith-Jones, chairman of the FCA, said: "David served on the FCA board since its inception on 1 April 2013 and I am extremely grateful for the vital contribution he made to the organisation, especially during those important early days.
"He was a remarkable man and his colleagues on the board will miss him greatly. Our thoughts are with his wife and family at this time."
Mr Harker was appointed as chair of TPAS last July for a four year term, at which time he expressed his delight.
Pensions Minister Steve Webb said at the time: "David is a proven leader who brings a wealth of consumer advice and voluntary sector experience."
Mr Harker, who was awarded a CBE, joined the FCA Board in April 2013. He was chief executive of Citizens Advice Bureau from 1997 until 2010.
Citizens Advice chief executive Gillian Guy said: "David Harker was passionate about Citizens Advice and delivering services to meet the needs of our clients. He recognised early on that as a service we need to diversify our funding and it was under his leadership that Citizens Advice secured the first agreement for debt advice. His passing is a great loss to the sector and the organisations he worked closely with, our sympathies are with his family."
He had been a non-executive director of the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority, which oversaw the work of Ofgem, and the senior independent member on the council of the Advertising Standards Authority, where he chaired the audit committee. He was an associate at the think tank, Civil Exchange, and a volunteer at Southwark Citizens Advice Bureau.
He was formerly a member of the FSA's Financial Capability Working Group, the NHS Modernisation Board, and the Cabinet Office's Delivery Council.
Earlier in his career he was managing director of the disability charity, Sense, a management consultant, an external examiner for the University of Brighton Business School and a non-executive director of the corporate governance consultancy, PIRC.
He was a graduate of the Universities of East Anglia and Essex, and the London Business School. He was also a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute (CCMI).