20 May 2013
DIRECTORATE CHANGE
John L. Thornton, an independent non-executive Director of HSBC Holdings plc ('HSBC'), has decided in view of recent expanded responsibilities within his other business interests not to seek re-election to the Board of HSBC at the Annual General Meeting on 24 May 2013, and to resign his Chairmanship of HSBC North America Holdings Inc. with effect from the same date.
Mr Thornton's appointment to the HSBC Board, and to the position of non-executive Chairman and director of HSBC North America Holdings Inc., took effect on 1 December 2008. He has been Chairman of the Group Remuneration Committee since 28 May 2010.
Commenting on Mr Thornton's retirement, HSBC Group Chairman Douglas Flint said: "John has made an invaluable contribution to the Group since his appointment, not least in his work with shareholders in his position as Chairman of the Remuneration Committee. I and the Board are saddened that a substantial increase in his other business and professional commitments means that he will be leaving the Board and would like to thank him for his counsel and service and wish him all the best in his future endeavours."
There are no matters relating to the retirement of Mr Thornton that need to be brought to the attention of the shareholders of the Company.
For and on behalf of
HSBC Holdings plc
R G Barber
Group Company Secretary
Media enquiries to Patrick Humphris on +44 (0) 20 7992 1631 or at patrick.humphris@hsbc.com
Notes to editors:
1. The Board of Directors of HSBC Holdings plc as at the date of this announcement are:
D J Flint, S T Gulliver, S A Catz†, L M L Cha†, M K T Cheung†, J B Comey, Jr.†, J D Coombe†,
J Faber†, R A Fairhead†, R Fassbind†, J W J Hughes-Hallett†, W S H Laidlaw†, J P Lipsky†,
J R Lomax†, I J Mackay, Sir Simon Robertson† and J L Thornton†.
† Independent Non-Executive Director
2. The HSBC Group
HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. The Group serves customers worldwide from around 6,600 offices in over 80 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, North and Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa. With assets of US$2,681bn at 31 March 2013, the HSBC Group is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organisations.