Investment management company Standard Life Aberdeen recently announced that its current Chief Executive Officer Keith Skeoch will step down after five years at the helm. Skeoch will be succeeded by former Citi executive Stephen Bird.
The announcement marks the end of a 14-year career as an SLA director for Skeoch, during which he oversaw the 2017 merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management to create one of Britain’s biggest fund managers.
However, his period as CEO, a job he originally shared with former Aberdeen chief Martin Gilbert, has not always been smooth. Heavy underperformance in the year after the merger drew criticism from some investors, something Chairman Douglas Flint looked to respond to quickly after joining the company last year, ditching the co-CEO structure and ultimately paving the way for Gilbert to leave the firm.
Outgoing CEO Keith Skeoch said: “It has been a real privilege to serve on the Board for the last 14 years and in particular the last five as Chief Executive. I know Stephen well and will leave my current role knowing the Company is in great hands. He will have my full support during transition, as he will have on an ongoing basis from the great team which has supported me.
“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,” the company said.
Commenting on the leadership changes, Douglas Flint, Chairman of SLA said: “The transition from Keith Skeoch was always going to be a challenge to deliver, given the incredible scale and range of his contributions to the success of the company over many years. I am however extremely pleased to say we have found a truly worthy successor. I am delighted to welcome Stephen to Standard Life Aberdeen and am looking forward to working with him. He is an inspiring leader with a great track record and experience in leading businesses to harness digital technology to improve both productivity and the client and customer experience. This, coupled with his ability to create valuable partnerships and guide businesses through periods of major change, means that he is well placed to build on the strong foundations we have at SLA.”
Stephen Bird will join the board as CEO-designate on July 1 and Skeoch will serve out the remainder of his contract, which runs until July 2021, as non-executive chairman of Aberdeen Standard Investments Research Institute.
The company in an official statement said, “Stephen brings an established track record of delivering exceptional value to clients and customers, creating high quality revenue and earnings growth in complex and competitive financial markets, as well as deep experience of business transformation during periods of technological disruption and competitive change.”
Most recently, Stephen served as CEO of Global Consumer Banking at Citigroup, a role he held since 2015, retiring in November last year.
Prior to that, Stephen was Chief Executive for all of Citigroup’s Asia Pacific business lines across 17 markets in the region, including India and China, in a 21 year career with Citigroup in which he held various leadership roles in banking, operations and technology across Citigroup’s Asian and Latin American businesses.
Speaking on his appointment, Stephen Bird said: “I am delighted to be joining Standard Life Aberdeen as its next Chief Executive. This is a company with a great history, a strong brand and an exciting future. The current crisis has highlighted the importance of active asset management as well as building greater resilience into personal financial planning. SLA’s leading asset management, platforms and wealth capabilities give great scope to help clients and customers navigate these challenges; this is what attracted me to the company. I am looking forward to working with my new colleagues to create a better future for all our stakeholders.”
Following the transition and Keith Skeoch’s subsequent retirement from the Board, the Board will comprise two executive directors, eight non-executive directors and the Chairman. The Board will be made up of five women and six men.
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