Charles Donald CBE
Biography
Charles Donald was appointed to the Department for Transport Operator (DFTO) Board as a Non-Executive Director in March 2026. In June 2026, Charles was awarded a CBE for services to Public Finance in The King’s Birthday Honours.
Charles served as Chief Executive Officer of UK Government Investments from March 2020 until January 2026, having joined in May 2018 as Head of the Financial Institutions Group.
Prior to this, he had spent his entire career in investment banking. He worked in Financing from 1987 – 1992 and then Equity Research from 1992 – 2006. He then moved into UK Corporate Advisory where he held a number of senior management positions until 2018.
From 2021 – 2024, Charles served as Chair of the Working Party on State Ownership and Privatisation Practices for the OECD in Paris.
His former Board roles include Non-Executive Director of the UK Infrastructure Bank (now the National Wealth Fund), Trustee of Help for Heroes (the Armed Forces charity) and Chair of the Lambrook School Trust.
Senior Adviser
The role of a Senior Advisor is to provide advice to UKGI on an ad hoc basis in matters of Corporate Finance and Corporate Governance.
Previous roles in government
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Chief Executive