European fund manager Cevian Capital has appointed UK Labour Party peer Lord Myners as chairman of its UK operations and a partner at the firm, subject to regulatory approval.

During a long career, Lord Myners has acted as chairman of Gartmore Investment Managers, Land Securities, Marks & Spencer and Guardian Media Group and vice-chairman of PowerGen. His directorships include Mm02, Orange, GLG, Bank of New York, and NatWest.

He has also been a member of the court of directors - the board - of the Bank of England, a board member of the Financial Reporting Council and a member of the UK Panel on Takeovers and Mergers.

Lord Myners has headed government reviews of both institutional investment in the UK and corporate governance in mutual life companies. After becoming a life peer in the House of Lords in 2008, he served in the newly-created post of UK Financial Services Secretary between 2008 and 2010, when he was an architect of the UK’s £500 billion ($825 billion) bank restructuring plan and a member of the National Economic Council. He stepped down in 2010 when the Labour party lost the general election.

He is currently the chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Corporate Governance Group in the Lords, and serves as a director of RIT Capital Partners, chairman of Autonomous Research and chairman of Justice Holdings.

Cevian Capital, which focuses on companies in the Nordics, German-speaking Europe, and the UK, manages approximately €3.5 billion ($5 billion) in assets.