HELSINKI, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Nordea's chair of the
board of directors Torbjorn Magnusson will step down at the end
of September, with former RBS Group chief executive Stephen
Hester taking his place from October, the bank said in a
statement on Thursday.
Magnusson, who is also the chief executive of insurance
group Sampo, will continue as a member of the board.
Former investment banker Hester, 61, was also appointed
chairman of budget airline easyJet in August to help it navigate
the post-pandemic recovery.
He has recently served as the chief executive of RSA
Insurance and was widely praised for restructuring RBS in the
aftermath of its state bailout during the 2008 financial crisis.
"Nordic financial services have been a part of my career in
many different roles, especially since 2014," Hester said.
Sampo remains Nordea's largest owner with 6.2% of shares
despite significantly reducing the holding in the past year in
what the company called a strategic shift to focus on the
insurance business.
(Reporting by Essi Lehto; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)