Mr Bailey said Ms Woodall was a “hugely enthusiastic” colleague and some of her work on ageing was “path breaking.”

She left the FCA at the beginning of the year to take up a number of roles, including as non-executive role at Aegon. As recently as May she joined joined the regulatory panel of Huntswood, a consultancy and recruitment company based in Reading.

Mr Bailey offered his condolences to the family of Ms Woodall who died in September.

Mr Bailey said: “I was deeply saddened by the news of Linda. She was such a good colleague, someone who was deeply committed to her work and the organisation.

“She did many things for the FSA and FCA, most recently her work on ageing and financial conduct which was path breaking.

“She was hugely enthusiastic about such an important topic and I have met many people from CEOs to consumers who volunteered to me that they had sought Linda out to get the benefit of her thoughts and advice.

“Our condolences are with Linda’s family.”

She joined the FCA’s predecessor, Financial Services Authority (FSA), in 2001 and at the FSA and FCA she worked in a variety of disciplines across the organisations. She was appointed a director in 2014 and the FCA said she would be remembered for the cross-sector work that she led on the ageing population. 

• Ms Woodall’s family have asked that their privacy is respected at this time and have that messages of condolence be sent to Linda’s family via the FCA: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.