Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority: appointment of Chair
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STATES OF JERSEY
JERSEY COMPETITION REGULATORY AUTHORITY: APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR
Presented to the States on 5th March 2026
by the Minister for Sustainable Economic Development
STATES GREFFE
2026 R.34
REPORT
Intended appointment of Mr Martin Coleman as Chair of the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority
Background
In accordance with Article 3(1)(a) of the Competition Regulatory Authority (Jersey) Law 2001 (the 2001 Law), the Minister for Sustainable Economic Development (the Minister) shall appoint the Chair of the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority (the JCRA).
Article 3(3) of the 2001 Law provides that Article 2 of the States of Jersey (Appointment Procedures) (Jersey) Law 2018 shall apply to the appointment of the Chair of the JCRA. Under Article 2 of that Law, the Minister is required to notify the States of the intended appointment at least 2 weeks before the appointment is made.
In accordance with these provisions, the Minister directed that the States be notified of the intended appointment of Mr Martin Coleman as Chair of the JCRA. The intended period of appointment is from 1 July 2026 for a period of four years to expire on 30 June 2030.
Appointment process
The appointment process leading to the intended appointment of Mr Coleman has been overseen by the Jersey Appointments Commission (the JAC).
A recruitment Panel was selected for this appointment comprising the below members. On 17 February, the independent Panel member was required to withdraw for family reasons. For the interview stage only, Chris Stephenson , Chair of the JAC, stepped in to fulfil the independent member role.
Name | Position held | Employer | Role on Panel |
Helen Ruelle | Deputy Chair | JAC | Meeting Chair |
Ian Walden | Senior Non- Executive Member | JCRA | JCRA Representative |
Tom Holvey | Chief Economic Advisor | Government of Jersey | Government Representative |
Geraldine Evans | Chief Operating Officer | Prosperity247 | Independent (to 17 February 2026y) |
Chris Stephenson | Chair | JAC | Independent (from 17 February 2026) |
In November 2025, following a competitive tender process, GatenbySanderson was selected by the JCRA as the executive search firm to undertake the search and advertising assignment for the role of JCRA Chair. Key considerations included GatenbySanderson's status as a preferred supplier to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), demonstrating relevant specialist experience. In addition, GatenbySanderson is also involved in the recruitment of Jersey's new Comptroller and
Auditor General, providing recent local knowledge. Although not the primary factor, their tender was also the lowest cost.
The role was widely advertised in Jersey and the UK. By the closing date of 19 December 2025, 28 applications had been received. A longlist of eight candidates was produced, from which four candidates were shortlisted for interview following an extensive shortlisting exercise by all Panel members. All shortlisted candidates were interviewed in Jersey. After careful deliberation, the Panel unanimously recommended to the Minister that Mr Coleman be appointed as the new Chair of the JCRA.
Skills required
As a small organisation with a broad remit covering regulation and competition in Jersey, candidates for this role were required to demonstrate all or most of the following experience and skills:
• A strong focus on organisational performance management and public accountability.
• In-depth board room experience with a track record of chairing relevant boards or committees efficiently and successfully.
• Success in the development and delivery of a broad agenda in a professional, public or regulatory organisation.
• A track record of building and managing relationships with complex and disparate stakeholders.
• Experience of working at senior levels with politicians and civil servants.
• Understanding of the purpose and wider context in which independent bodies like the JCRA operate and can be effective.
• Ideally have experience at a senior professional level of competition policy and/or utility regulation with a successful track record of achievement in their professional field.
• A strong understanding and experience of competition law and ideally economic regulation, consumer protection and market oversight and its role in economic growth and impacts on people.
• Able to understand complex economic and legal analysis, including merger assessments, antitrust principles, and market studies.
• An understanding of the policy and economic constraints faced by small Island economies and how markets and regulation can optimise the economic position.
Additionally, the successful candidate needed to demonstrate:
• A strong personal presence with evident leadership and ambassadorial skills, commanding the respect of a wide range of stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to convey complex issues to a range of audiences.
• Resilience, determination and integrity to reach well balanced judgements in an impartial objective and transparent manner, while managing lobbying and media pressure.
• The ability to demonstrate the highest degree of honesty, probity and integrity.
• Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Political awareness and knowledge of small economies and policy pressures.
• A high level of analytical ability, combined with an ability to take a wide view on economic matters, in particular an understanding of consumer and business interests.
• Commercial awareness.
• Demonstrate behaviour consistent with the values of the organisation and, specifically, the Nolan Principles.
Recommendation of Mr Martin Coleman
The recruitment process has resulted in the identification of a candidate of exceptional calibre for the role of JCRA Chair, with extensive experience in competition law, strong leadership capabilities, and a background in a range of positions within the CMA.
Mr Coleman currently holds the role of Panel Chair, Inquiry Chair and Board Member of the CMA. This role comes to an end later this year.
A solicitor by profession (currently non-practicing), Mr Coleman spent his executive career between 1989 and 2017 with international legal services group Norton Rose Fulbright, as a partner from 1991. He is a senior competition practitioner and has had involvement in highly complex cases including major matters relating to access to, and mergers of, sea ports, airports and telecommunications operators.
He has significant Non-Executive Director board experience, including with the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Economic and Social Research Council and the Office for Students and, since 2017, he has been associated with the CMA in various guises. As a Board Member of the CMA, he co-established the overall direction of the organisation, playing a role in setting a strategy reflecting changes to public policy objectives, the business environment and consumer needs, for example in dealing with digital platforms and a renewed focus on economic growth. As Panel Chair, he oversees the Panel of Independent Members conducting inquiries into complex mergers, market investigations and regulatory appeals; and as Inquiry Chair, he has recently chaired inquiries into mobile communications for emergency services and the Microsoft/Activision merger.
Mr Coleman has participated in board effectiveness reviews in various bodies (Solicitors Regulation Authority, CMA, Office for Students, Norton Rose Fulbright). He has been re-appointed to further terms on every board on which he has served and he has significant experience of working with diverse stakeholder groups including consumer groups.
During the selection process, Mr Coleman explained his motivation to apply for the role being the opportunity to apply his extensive career experience in competition law, regulatory decision making and public sector governance to a smaller jurisdiction where he can have visible and meaningful impact. He expressed a desire to work in a context where he can "think about the right answer for the public interest" rather than act solely as an advisor, noting that his recent years at the CMA have been the most professionally fulfilling. He is drawn to the unique conditions of a small island economy, the breadth
of stakeholder engagement, and the ability to contribute strategically as part of a tightly connected economic and policy ecosystem. He emphasised that the role balances interest and contribution: it aligns with his long-standing competition policy expertise while offering a new jurisdictional context, which he finds intellectually compelling.
Balance of the Board
On making the intended appointment of Mr Coleman, the JCRA Board composition would include two long-standing Jersey residents (Mr Ed Daubeney and Mr Tim Ringsdore), one woman (Dr Lara Stoimenova), an economist (Dr Lara Stoimenova), and two lawyers (Dr Ian Walden and Mr Martin Coleman). The Board will have a broad knowledge of competition, regulation, telecommunications, data protection, privacy, consumer issues and cyber security.
Resource implications
The Department for the Economy provides the JCRA with an Annual Grant to administer the Competition (Jersey) Law 2005. Fees payable to the Chair of the JCRA are sourced from the Annual Grant made to the JCRA, as well as from the JCRA's own accounts.
There are no other resource implications for the Government of Jersey arising from this appointment.
GatenbySanderson's costs have been sourced from the JCRA's budget.