The 142-year-old London Metal Exchange (LME) has appointed former banker Gay Huey Evans as chair of the board, the first female to have that role in its history.
Huey Evans, who is a Standard Chartered, ConocoPhillips and Ita?? BBA International board member, previously worked at Citi, Barclays Capital and the UK's Financial Services Authority. She will replace Brian Bender when he retires from the board in December, the LME said.
"Her global experience in developing policy and growing markets, (and) her deep understanding of risk, governance and regulation, will be paramount to the LME as we continue to grow in an ever-changing landscape," said the exchange's chief executive Matt Chamberlain.
Under Chamberlain, the world's biggest market for industrial metals is working on raising the number of women in its senior ranks amid a broader push for diversity.
The executive has also been trying to improve behaviour standards at the LME and among its members after a client used the exchange's brand to promote a cocktail party at London's Playboy Club during last year's LME Week, an annual gathering of the metals industry.
The exchange, an emblem of a male-dominated metals trading community, has one of the last "open-outcry" trading floor. The last woman trader left it in 2013.