20 Facts About Alex Chisholm

Sir Alexander James Chisholm was born on 2 January 1968 and is a British civil servant and former regulator, who served as Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary and the chief operating officer of the United Kingdom's Civil Service between April 2020 and April 2024.

Alex Chisholm was previously the permanent secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from September 2016 to April 2020 and permanent secretary at the Department for Energy and Climate Change during 2016.

Alex Chisholm was born on 2 January 1968 in London to parents Ian Duncan Chisholm and Annabel Chisholm.

Alex Chisholm's father was a consultant psychiatrist and his mother was a daughter of the 2nd Baron Windlesham.

Alex Chisholm was privately educated at Downside School before studying history at Merton College, Oxford, and a Master of Business Administration degree at INSEAD.

Alex Chisholm began work as a civil servant in 1990, working at the Department of Trade and Industry and Office of Fair Trading until 1997.

Alex Chisholm specialised in competition policy and the media, communications and financial services sectors.

Alex Chisholm then worked for three years for Pearson plc and the Financial Times, before spending some years working for technology companies, eCountries Inc and Ecceleration Ltd.

Alex Chisholm founded and ran Heritage Bulbs, a company specialising in the provision of rare and historic bulbs.

In 2007 Alex Chisholm was appointed as a commissioner of the Commission for Communications Regulation in Ireland, becoming its chair in February 2010.

Alex Chisholm left the role to become the first chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority in the United Kingdom, with his appointment announced on 8 January 2013.

Alex Chisholm, after taking up his post, was responsible for merging these two bodies and streamlining their operations.

In 2015, Alex Chisholm wrote in a Financial Times article that proposed taxi regulations by Transport for London, following protests against ride-sharing firm Uber, would "artificially restrict competition".

Alex Chisholm was appointed as permanent secretary to the Department of Energy and Climate Change in 2016, and continued as permanent secretary for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy after it was created nine days later in September 2016 by merging DECC and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Alex Chisholm's appointment was criticised by OVO Energy founder Stephen Fitzpatrick who said that a CMA inquiry into the energy industry that was run while he was chief executive was "subjected to lobbying from the big six" that resulted in reforms that The Times described as "watered down".

The review opposed the introduction of energy price caps, which BEIS introduced in 2019 while Alex Chisholm was its permanent secretary.

In February 2024 it was announced that Alex Chisholm would be succeeded by Cat Little.

Alex Chisholm was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 2023 Birthday Honours for public service.

Alex Chisholm married Eliza Pakenham, daughter of Thomas Pakenham and granddaughter of the 7th Earl of Longford, in 1993.

Alex Chisholm has been a trustee of Breadline Africa, an international charity, since 2003, and served as its deputy chair.