Laura Carstensen

Biography

Following the completion of the statutory audit services market investigation, of which Laura was the Chair, her appointment term ended on 26 September 2014.

The information provided below is accurate for Laura’s term of appointment only and does not take account of any future roles.

Laura Carstensen (appointed in 2005 and a Deputy Chairman between 2009-2011) is a senior lawyer with extensive experience of EU and UK competition law practice including as a partner in the City law firm Slaughter and May (1994-2004). She is co-founder and director of 2 online mail order businesses, Blue Banyan Ltd and Hortica. She is a Commissioner of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, a member of the Cooperation & Competition Panel for NHS-Funded Services, a non-executive director of the Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust Hospital, MLex Limited and the Co-operative Bank plc, and an independent member of the Business Oversight Board of The Law Society of England & Wales. She is also a Trustee of National Museums Liverpool.

Register of interests

  • Non-executive Director, Co-operative Bank plc and chair of its Values and Ethics Committee
  • Commissioner, Equality and Human Rights Commission (January 2013)
  • Member, Business Oversight Board of The Law Society of England and Wales (from February 2012)
  • Trustee, National Museums Liverpool (from October 2011) and member of the Audit Committee (from September 2012)
  • Shareholder/non-executive director, Blue Banyan Ltd and Meditation Designs suppliers of mind/body/spirit products and Hortica, supplier of gardening products
  • Non-executive director and Chair of Audit Committee, Park Group plc
  • Non-executive director, MLex Limited
  • Investor/shareholder, Spyder/Redspy Ltd, a company designing websites and developing digital content principally for the automotive industry
  • Member, Cooperation & Competition Panel for NHS-Funded Services
  • Previously: non-executive Board member, Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (Cabinet Office) (until June 2011)
  • Previously: self-employed consultant on strategy & business development to the Antitrust group of the law firm Linklaters (until January 2010)
  • Previously: partner, Slaughter and May (until June 2004)