Penny Alexander and Christopher Carter Keall will serve four-year terms
Defra has appointed Penny Alexander and Christopher Carter Keall as non-executive directors to the board of Covent Garden Market Authority (CGMA).
Alexander and Carter Keall will both serve four-year terms, from 5 May 2026 to 4 May 2030.
Alexander is a stakeholder engagement specialist NED and is described as a strategic leader and board member skilled at building relationships and consensus with a broad range of stakeholders across different sectors and communities.
She has more than 20 years’ experience in setting up and leading urban, place-based partnership companies, and has held board roles in a range of sectors and bodies. Defra said she “delivers high-level direction and creative thinking backed by strong governance and process”, and is adept at effecting change to drive places forward.
Carter Keall joins the board as a business development specialist NED, and is a senior real estate executive with over 35 years’ experience leading investment, asset management, and development strategies across real estate portfolios.
He brings with him a proven track record, the government said, providing board-level governance across institutional, private equity, and public market contexts, with expertise in strategic transformation, ESG integration, and stakeholder management.
At the same time as announcing the appointments, Defra has reappointed David Fison, from 22 June 2026 to 21 December 2027.
Wanda Goldwag, chair of CGMA, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Christopher and Penny to the board at a critical time for New Covent Garden Market. Their terms will span the completion of a huge redevelopment programme that is constructing a market capable of maintaining, for decades to come, its position as a crucial hub in the supply chains for fresh food and flowers for London and the south east of England.
”I also welcome David’s reappointment – all three will play very important roles in the next phase.”
