Sir Charles Edward Beck Bowman (born 1962), is a British accountant who served as the 690th

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...

Career

Bowman was born in Essex and educated at

Old Buckenham Hall School Old Buckenham Hall School (commonly known as OBH) is a day and boarding school, boarding preparatory school (UK), preparatory school with pre-prep for boys and girls in the village of Brettenham, Suffolk, England. Founded in 1862, the school ha ...

from 1970 to 1975 before attending

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. The headma ...

from 1975 to 1979. He then read Architecture at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

, graduating as a BA. Bowman joined Price Waterhouse in 1983 and qualified as a chartered accountant (FCA) in 1986. He was a partner in Price Waterhouse and

PwC PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...

from 1995 to 2020 and has been an adviser to the firm since then. He specialised in delivering audit, assurance and capital market transaction services to larger listed and multi-national companies. Amongst many leadership roles in PwC, Sir Charles led the firm’s Building Public Trust programme. Outside of PwC, Bowman has chaired the Assurance Panel and the Audit and Assurance Faculty of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (

ICAEW The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is a professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports chartered accountants and students around the world. As of July 2022, it has over 198,000 members ...

) and was a member of its governing body. He chaired the Audit Quality Forum. Sir Charles has also served as a member of the Advisory Council of the Prince of Wales’s Accounting for Sustainability Project, a member of the Board of Trade, a JP, governor of a primary school academy in Hackney, board member of a School Foundation, Ambassador of

the Samaritans Samaritans is a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress, struggling to cope or at risk of suicide throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, often through its telephone helpline. ...

, Trustee and Chairman of the Lord Mayor’s Appeal and an Adviser to The Mansion House Scholarship Scheme. He is a member of the Trade Advisory Group for Professional Advisory Services a board member of the China-Britain Business Council, RedCat Pub Company and The Nurture Landscapes Group, and an Honorary Air Commodore of No. 2623 Squadron RAuxAF Regiment. Bowman is a Court member of the

Worshipful Company of Grocers The Worshipful Company of Grocers is one of the 110 Livery Companies of the City of London and ranks second in order of precedence. The Grocers' Company was established in 1345 for merchants occupied in the trade of grocer and is one of the Gr ...

and a liveryman of the

Worshipful Company of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales The Worshipful Company of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The organisation became a livery company in 1977. The Company promotes "honourable practice" of accounting and awards pr ...

. Knighted in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to trust in business, international trade and the City of London, Sir Charles is also a Knight of Justice of the Order of St John.

City of London

Elected an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

of the City of London Corporation, representing Lime Street Ward since May 2013, Bowman served as one of the two Sheriffs of London for 2015/16 and as

for 2017/18. As Lord Mayor, Sir Charles launched the City of London Corporation's Business of Trust programmewww.cityoflondon.gov.uk
/ref> with its aims of helping to create "a lasting legacy of better business, trusted by society".

Personal life

In 1996, Bowman married Samantha Kemball, a

veterinary surgeon Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics (bones, joints, muscles), soft tissue surgery (skin, body cavities, cardiovascular system, GI/urogenital/ ...

: they have two daughters, Grace and Charlotte and live in Suffolk, although he has spent the working week in London. Other interests include cricket, golf, tennis, art and architecture and country matters – including helping, when allowed, to co-shepherd a small flock of sheep.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, Charles 1962 births Living people People from Essex People educated at Uppingham School Alumni of the University of Bristol British accountants 21st-century lord mayors of London Knights Bachelor Knights of Justice of the Order of St John English justices of the peace