SRA continues planned expansion of executive leadership team
29 July 2026
As part of its ongoing drive to transform the way it operates and become a modern, proportionate regulator, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has announced two new appointments to its executive leadership team.
Building on leadership changes announced earlier in the year, the appointments see Alan Evans join the regulator as its new Executive Director, General Counsel, Risk and Compliance, and Kate O'Neill join as Executive Director, Communications and External Affairs.
Making these, and wider changes to the SRA's executive leadership team announced in April 2026, will create greater capacity, renewed focus and more clarity at senior levels, which in turn will drive the transformation needed at the regulator. Introducing these new roles has enabled the regulator to remove a level of senior management.
Recruitment campaigns for the final two new roles (Executive Directors of Supervision, and Market Risk, Data and Insight) started on 20 July 2026.
Sarah Rapson, Chief Executive of the SRA, said: 'I am delighted to welcome Kate and Alan to the SRA and am so pleased that we continue to attract such high calibre people to the SRA. Establishing a stronger leadership team and simplified leadership structure is crucial to achieving the scale of change needed at the SRA. That said, there is still a lot of work ahead of us to become a modern, proportionate regulator that is both trusted and effective.'
Alan will take up his role as Executive Director, General Counsel, Risk and Compliance in October, while Kate started her role in May.
Alan Evans CB
Alan Evans comes to the SRA having been General Counsel and Director General of the Legal Group at HM Revenue and Customs, where he is leading a large multidisciplinary team delivering legal services to HMRC and Treasury Ministers. Alan also advised HMRC on corporate governance, legal compliance and risk, professional standards and ethics. He is a member of the HMRC Executive Committee and the Government Legal Profession Senior Leadership Team.
Before that, Alan held senior legal leadership positions across government, including as Legal Director at the Environment and Business Departments. His earlier government career included roles advising on the design, implementation and oversight of company, competition, consumer and other regulatory frameworks.
Prior to working in government, Alan practiced commercial litigation in the City of London, primarily advising financial institutions. He is a past member of the Law Society’s European Committee.
Kate O'Neill
Until recently, Kate was Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs at the Financial Reporting Council. Kate established this team in early 2020 to deliver an integrated strategic stakeholder engagement function and a corporate affairs programme across internal and external communications, public affairs, brand and marketing.
Previously, she was the Head of Corporate Development at Jupiter Asset Management where she was responsible for corporate strategy, investor relations and communications. Kate was the Managing Director of Investor Relations at Lloyds Banking Group during the financial crisis before becoming a Partner at Brunswick and then at Maitland communications agencies, advising global clients on capital markets and communications issues.
After first qualifying as a lawyer, Kate has spent most of her career in the financial services sector in the UK, Europe and Australasia.