About Sam Woods

Sam Woods assumed the role of Deputy Governor for Prudential Regulation and Chief Executive Officer of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) on 1 July 2016. As Deputy Governor for Prudential Regulation and CEO of the PRA, Sam Woods is also a member of the Bank’s Court of Directors, the Prudential Regulation Committee, the Financial Policy Committee, and the Board of the Financial Conduct Authority. Sam’s previous role was Executive Director of Insurance at the PRA. In this role, Sam was responsible for overseeing the monitoring and regulation of over 600 life and general insurance firms. Sam joined the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in 2011 and transferred to the Bank in 2013 with the integration of the PRA. He served as Director for Financial Stability Strategy and Risk, and prior to that was Director for Domestic UK Banks Supervision.   Sam Woods (born 7 May 1973) is a New Zealand-born British civil servant. In July 2016, he became the deputy governor of the Bank of England, which oversees the UK banking and insurance sectors. As head of the PRA, he succeeded Andrew Bailey, who became the head of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Prior to his role at the Bank, Woods held positions at HM Treasury, UK Financial Investments, the Independent Commission on Banking, and earlier at Diageo and McKinsey. Woods was educated at Winchester College, graduated in history and English from the University of Oxford in 1995 and has an MBA from INSEAD. He is married to Mary Starks, an executive at the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets. They reside in Stockwell, London, and have three children.