Alderman Michael Mainelli has today [29 September 2023] been elected as the 695th Lord Mayor of the City of London.
As the elected head of the City of London Corporation, he will serve as a global ambassador for the UK financial and professional services industry from Friday 10 November for a one-year term. He will succeed current Lord Mayor Nicholas Lyons.
The annual Lord Mayor’s Show takes place on Saturday 11 November, which will be Alderman Mainelli’s first public engagement. It will be followed by the Lord Mayor’s Banquet on Monday 13 November at Guildhall, where the Prime Minister will deliver a keynote speech.
The Lord Mayor acts as an international spokesperson for the City, leading business delegations overseas to key international markets on behalf of the UK’s financial and professional services industry.
In the role Alderman Mainelli will meet government representatives from around the world, alongside business leaders and policy makers both at home and abroad. He will work to strengthen global economic ties with the UK, identify new business opportunities, and promote the UK as a top global destination for foreign investment.
During his Mayoral year, Alderman Mainelli will champion ‘Connect to Prosper’, an initiative focused on harnessing the City’s vast knowledge ecosystem. With over 40 learned societies, 70 higher education institutions, and 130 research institutes, in and around the City, it is a dynamic hub for innovation.
He will spotlight the City’s expertise in areas including finance, law, art, and engineering, while bringing together thought leaders from diverse backgrounds to encourage innovation and global problem solving on critical challenges facing the world – from climate change to artificial intelligence.
He will also emphasise the City’s unique role as a global knowledge connector and talent cluster, showcasing its capacity to address global challenges and foster inventiveness within its communities.
Lord Mayor Elect, Alderman Michael Mainelli, said:
“I am deeply honoured to have been elected as the 695th Lord Mayor of the City of London.
“As its global ambassador, I will champion the UK financial and professional services industry – not only as a powerhouse of the UK economy – but also a driver of prosperity to key markets abroad.
“My Connect to Prosper theme will bring together thought leaders from the business, scientific, and academic worlds to demonstrate the City’s strengths in solving global challenges.
“Together we will showcase the Square Mile’s unique leadership role as the world’s coffeehouse, where connections between firms, institutions, and people, lead to new ideas and solutions that benefit the world.”
Financial and professional services firms employ over seven per cent of the UK workforce, 2.3m people, two-thirds of whom are outside London. The City accounts for one in every five financial services jobs in the UK.
Financial and professional services firms contributed nearly £100 billion in taxes in 2020, providing over 13% of the UK’s total tax revenue.
The UK was the world’s leading net exporter of financial and professional services (£121bn) in 2020. Financial services accounted for £82bn and professional services for £39bn.
Financial and insurance services contributed £173.6 billion to the UK economy in 2021, 8.3% of the total. It was the fifth largest sector in terms of overall economic output.
Around 2.5 times as many dollars are traded in the UK as in the US. Overall, the UK has 43% of the global total of foreign-exchange turnover.
