HSBC Holdings plc has announced the appointment of Noel Quinn as group chief executive with immediate effect.
Earlier in August 2019, Quinn had been appointed as interim chief after the sudden exit of John Flint from CEO’s position. Flint, a 30 year HSBC veteran started at the financial conglomerate in 1989, took over the CEO role in February 2018, and stepped down in just about 18 months at the helm of the bank.
Post Flint’s exit, the Board had initiated a search to find a new chief executive, and in the interim had appointed Noel Quinn as Group CEO. Quinn, has had around 32 years at the bank, and most recently, prior to being appointed as interim group chief he led Global Commercial Banking as CEO.
HSBC, has been under financial pressure for quite some time. Post Flint’s exit, Group Chairman, Mark Tucker had said: – “HSBC is in a strong position to deliver on its strategy. In the increasingly complex and challenging global environment in which the Bank operates, the Board believes a change is needed to meet the challenges that we face and to capture the very significant opportunities before us.” Earlier this year, in February 2020, with Quinn at helm, while announcing the annual results, the company had announced a series of measures towards simplifying its structure, reorganizing the business, and restructuring roles across its global operations to stay more competitive, and to make the organisation more efficient. The changes planned is expected to witness a major overhaul that would reduce the number of staff to 200,000 from 235,000 over the next three years.
In his statement on appointment of Quinn as Group CEO, Group Chairman Mark Tucker, said: – “Noel has proven to be the outstanding candidate to take on a role permanently that he has performed impressively on an interim basis since August 2019. He is a strong and proven leader with extensive global banking expertise, deep client relationships and the energy and skill to drive the business forward at pace. In the last few months Noel has worked closely with the Board to agree the key actions required to build and enhance performance on a sustainable basis. He has shown a great understanding of HSBC, the challenges we face and the significant opportunities for growth that lie ahead. We wish him the very best in taking HSBC forward.”
On taking over as Group CEO, Noel Quinn said: – “I am honoured to be given the opportunity to lead HSBC as Group CEO. In leading the bank on an interim basis for the last few months, I have really enjoyed working with Mark, the Board and over 230,000 colleagues around the world to reposition the Bank for success in the future. HSBC is an outstanding global company with talented and dedicated people. There is much that remains to be done and I am confident that we will rise to the challenge and deliver for our shareholders, customers, employees and society at large.”
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