(Alliance News) - Standard Life Aberdeen PLC on Tuesday said former senior executive of Citigroup Inc Stephen Bird will succeed Keith Skeoch as group chief executive as part of a "wide-ranging succession planning exercise".
Shares in the fund manager were up 3.3% at 274.70 pence each in London, the second-best performer in the FTSE 100.
Bird will initially join the company's board as CEO-designate on Wednesday and was touted as a potential candidate for the top job at HSBC Holdings PLC - the role eventually went to Noel Quinn.
Following a handover period and subject to regulatory approvals, Bird will assume CEO role at which point Skeoch will stand down after some five years as CEO and 14 years as a director.
Skeoch will serve out the remainder of his contract as non-executive chair of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Research Institute, Standard Life said.
The management transition is expected to take place by the end of the third quarter.
"The combination of Standard Life with Aberdeen Asset Management and the disposal of the Life business to Phoenix Group created an asset management business with scale, reach and potential, complemented by attractive opportunities in UK platforms and wealth businesses. With integration well progressed and having built significant balance sheet strength, this appointment launches the next phase of evolution aimed at developing and expanding the revenue opportunities available to SLA and marks the culmination of a wide-ranging succession planning exercise," Standard Life said.
Bird most recently served as CEO of Global Consumer Banking division at Citigroup, a role he held since 2015. He retired in November 2019.
By Tapan Panchal; tapanpanchal@alliancenews.com
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