Lord James Sassoon

Lord Sassoon began his career at KPMG, before joining SG Warburg (later UBS Warburg) in 1985, where he became a managing director in investment banking.

He joined the Treasury in 2002 as the Managing Director responsible for financial services and enterprise policy. Between 2007 and 2010, he chaired the Financial Action Task Force, the global anti money laundering and counter terrorist financing standard setter, and conducted The Tripartite Review of the United Kingdom’s system of financial regulation. From May 2010 to January 2013, he was the first Commercial Secretary to the Treasury and Treasury Minister in the House of Lords.

During his career, James has had a consistent focus on business with Asia, particularly China. From 2013 to 2020 he was an Executive Director of Jardine Matheson, the Hong Kong based Asian trading group. He is President (formerly Chairman) of the China-Britain Business Council and acts as an advisor to the Chinese sovereign wealth fund, the CIC. He is a Director of China Construction Bank, the world’s second largest bank, and was formerly an advisor to Japan’s largest bank, MUFG.

Lord Sassoon was knighted in 2007 and joined the House of Lords in 2010. He was a Deputy Chairman of the British Museum and now chairs Sir Jorn Soane’s Museum.

He was born in London in 1955 and educated at Christ Church, Oxford, where he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He is married with three children.