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Martin Stanley
Former Chief Executive of the Competition Commission
Martin Stanley is currently the Interim Chief Executive of the Public Sector in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Prior to taking up this appointment, he was Chief Executive of the UK’s Competition Commission
Martin was appointed Chief Executive of the Competition Commission in 2004. The Commission is an independent body which decides whether large firms may be allowed to merge with one another, investigates whether particular markets are working satisfactorily, and acts as a Court of Appeal from certain decisions by utility regulators.
Martin was born in 1948 and grew up in the North-East of England where he attended the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He then studied chemistry and economics at Oxford University.
Martin joined the civil service in 1971 and first worked in the Inland Revenue before moving to the Department of Trade and Industry where he held a number of senior positions. In particular, from 1990 to 1992, he was DTI's Principal Private Secretary, i.e. he led the teams which supported the day to day activities of the Secretary of State and other Ministers.
Martin particularly enjoys working closely with industry and, between 1992 and 1998, led a number of teams responsible for the Government's relations with, and support for, the vehicle, steel, engineering, offshore oil/gas and international projects industries.
Martin then transferred to the Cabinet Office where he was Director of the Regulatory Impact Unit, responsible for helping Government Ministers and Departments find the right balance between under-regulating (and so failing to protect the public) and over-regulating (and so failing to preserve freedoms, or creating excessive bureaucracy).
From 2000 until 2004 Martin was Chief Executive of the Postal Services Commission (Postcomm), the Government department that regulates the UK postal services industry. Reporting to a Chairman and 5 non-exec Commissioners, Martin oversaw the research and consultation which led to the opening of the whole of the UK postal market – previously a Royal Mail monopoly – to competition from other postal operators
Martin has held non-exec appointments with American Express and IBM, and, until 2004, was non-executive Chairman of Atmaana, a company which supports senior executives as they deliver critical projects.
