Photo: City of London Corporation
The Lord Mayor Elect will take office during the Silent Ceremony, which is held in Great Hall, Guildhall on Friday 11 November at 3pm, the day preceding the Lord Mayor’s Show.
Alderman Wootton, who previously served as Sheriff of the City between 2009-2010, was educated at Bradford Grammar School, and at Jesus College, Cambridge, reading Classics and Law.
He became a partner at Allen & Overy in 1979, specialising in corporate transactions and best-practice compliance with law and regulation in corporate governance.
He was elected as Alderman for the Ward of Langbourn in 2005 and has been President of the City of London Law Society and is Chairman of the City of London Branch of the Institute of Directors and an Honorary Bencher of Grays Inn.
The annually-elected Lord Mayor is the head of the City of London Corporation and acts during the year as global ambassador for the whole UK-based financial services industry, typically spending three months a year leading City business delegations overseas – and also meeting leading overseas politicians and business leaders visiting London’s financial community.
Speaking after his election, Lord Mayor Elect Wootton said: “The theme for my year in office is ensuring that the City and its institutions are Fit for the Future. The Square Mile is part of the UK domestic community and we need to show that it is.
“It is easy to regard the City as solely about financial services and only looking outside the UK but this is far from the case. In addition to creating huge economic value both domestically and across Europe, it makes a major contribution to a wide range of activities from education, opportunities, training and skills to charity work.”
Wootton, who was raised in Yorkshire, added: “I know that the City does care about manufacturing and other industries across the rest of the country. We need to communicate this better and ‘join the dots’ between domestic and international issues, and between the City of London and the wider UK economy.”
