Legal & General group chief risk officer (CRO) Chris Knight will join the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as director of insurance in July.
Knight will be taking on the position formerly held by Matt Brewis within the regulator’s supervision, policy and competition (SPC) division.
Knight has been at the insurer for 17 years and held the group CRO role for the last five years and member of its group management committee.
Prior to this, he was CEO of Legal & General Retail Retirement for three years and also held the role of group customer champion for three years.
He first joined the insurer in 2009 as finance director for L&G’s non-UK insurance businesses, including those in the US, France, Holland, India and Egypt.
FCA director of competition Graeme Reynolds has been acting director of insurance since Brewis left in the summer of 2025, meaning it will be almost a year between the departure and appointment.
In September, FCA deputy chief executive Sarah Pritchard told Health & Protection the recruitment campaign for the replacement had closed within the last few weeks.
Interim PSR deputy MD
The FCA also hired David Lymburn as interim deputy managing director of the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) on 23 February 2026.
David has more than 15 years’ experience in financial services, including as chief operating officer and global payments programme director at Nordea Bank and payments roles at the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group, the regulator said.
He will serve in this interim role while the permanent recruitment takes place.
FCA deputy chief executive Sarah Pritchard said: “We welcome Chris and David into their new roles.
“They bring considerable industry and leadership experience and will play a vital part in driving forward our strategic priorities – strengthening our capabilities, accelerating our journey to become a smarter regulator, and ensuring we continue to support economic growth and improve lives across the UK.”
