John Godfrey is the Managing Director of Public Affairs, Policy, and Research at TheCityUK. He assumed this role on an interim basis following the General Election, stepping in after his predecessor, Emma Reynolds, was successfully re-elected to Parliament and appointed as Pensions Minister.
John’s career spans forty years, during which he has worked in City institutions and both central and local government. He began his career in debt and equity capital markets at a Japanese investment bank, followed by a secondment as a Special Adviser (SPAD) to the Home Secretary. Afterward, he returned to the City, taking on Corporate Affairs roles at both a US and a German bank before serving as Corporate Affairs Director and Executive Committee member at Legal & General for 16 years. His work involved policy development and engagement on financial and regulatory matters, as well as investment-led growth, public-private partnerships, demographic change, and urban regeneration across the UK.
In 2016/17, John took a sabbatical from Legal & General to serve as Head of the Policy Unit at Number Ten Downing Street. He later returned to Legal & General, working as Levelling Up Director. Recognising the importance of local leadership in delivering major investment projects, he spent a year as Interim Executive Director for Housing, Property, and Regeneration at the West Midlands Combined Authority, where he helped unlock over 8,000 homes on brownfield sites by combining government funding with private capital.
John is a strong advocate for integrated, evidence-based policymaking. He serves as a Financial Inclusion Commissioner and contributes to various commissions and boards focused on health-related issues. He is also the founding Chairman of Business for Health and a board member of the Centre for Ageing Better.
