Covent Garden Market Authority (CGMA) and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are pleased to announce that John Lelliott has been appointed as CGMA’s new interim Chair, following the departure of David Frankish at the end of last year.

John has been on the CGMA board since 2016 and has a wealth of relevant experience. His appointment will last for up to 12 months while Defra completes an open competition for a longer-term successor. The role will be advertised in the coming months on GOV.UK, here.

CGMA is the team that looks after and runs New Covent Garden Market. Set up by Acts of Parliament in 1961, CGMA is accountable to Defra, and led by the Board, members of which are appointed by the Defra Secretary of State.

The interim appointment of John Lelliott was made as an exceptional appointment without competition, and approved by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

The appointment has been made on merit in accordance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if significant) to be declared. The appointee has not declared any political activity in the past five years. You can find out more about the purpose of CGMA here.