L&G Announces Appointment of Jeff Davies as CFO

RNS Number : 5436S

Legal & General Group Plc

22 December 2016

 

Legal & General Group Plc Board Announces the appointment of Jeff Davies as Group Chief Financial Officer

Legal & General Group Plc ("Legal & General") is pleased to announce the appointment of Jeff Davies as Group Chief Financial Officer. Jeff will take up the appointment following the 2016 preliminary results announcement in Spring 2017. Mark Gregory, the current Group CFO, will step down from Legal & General Group Board when Jeff takes up his appointment, but will remain an employee of the company until 31 August to assist with an orderly handover.

Jeff Davies is currently a senior partner of Ernst & Young LLP (E&Y) and leads their European Risk and Actuarial Insurance Services practice. Prior to joining E&Y in 2004, he held a number of senior actuarial roles at Swiss Re Life & Health. His appointment follows a thorough process conducted by the Nominations Committee with the assistance of a leading executive search firm. The appointment has been approved by both the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority.

Sir John Kingman, Chairman of Legal & General commented:

"I am delighted Jeff has been appointed as Group Chief Financial Officer. He has deep insurance experience and expertise, and will be an excellent addition to the Group Board as we take Legal & General forward on the next stage of our strategy of growth. Mark has been an outstanding Group Chief Financial Officer. I would like to thank him for agreeing to stay with Legal & General until the summer."

Nigel Wilson, Group Chief Executive Officer said:

"I very much look forward to Jeff joining the executive management team, and working together as we continue to successfully implement Legal & General's growth strategy. I would also like to thank Mark for the terrific job he has done as Group Chief Financial Officer."

No other information is required to be disclosed pursuant to paragraph 9.6.13R of the Listing Rules of the Financial Services Authority in relation to Jeff's appointment as a director of the Company.

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For further information, please contact:

Investors:

Laura Doyle                      Head of Investor Relations                                                                                       020 3124 2088

Sujee Rajah                      Investor Relations Manager                                                                                     020 3124 2047

Media:

Richard King                     Head of Group Corporate Communications                                                        020 3124 2095

Notes to editors:

1.            Stuart Jeffrey Davies (Jeff)

Jeff is currently a senior partner of Ernst & Young LLP (E&Y) and leads their European Risk and Actuarial Services practice. He joined E&Y in 2004. Prior to this, he was with Swiss Re where he held a number of senior actuarial roles. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries.

Jeff's base salary will be £500,000. His maximum bonus potential will be 150% of salary (subject to the approval of the Group's Remuneration Committee).  A percentage of any bonus will be deferred and awarded in shares in Legal & General Group plc.  Jeff will be entitled to participate in the Company's Performance Share Plan as determined by the Group's Remuneration Committee with a current award potential of 250% of salary.

Jeff's remuneration is consistent with the Company's remuneration policy for 2016 as detailed in the 2015 Directors' Remuneration Report and approved by shareholders in 2014.

2.            Mark Gregory

Mark originally announced an intention to retire on 31^st January 2017 (RNS 0110O dated 4 February 2016).

Mark joined Legal & General in 1998 from Asda Group Plc where he was responsible for divisional finance and financial control. He has undertaken a variety of divisional finance and operational director roles at Legal & General including Financial Director (Retail), Group Financial Controller, Communications and Resources Director, Resources and International Director, UK Services Operations Director and Managing Director of With Profits. Mark was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Savings business and as a director of the Board in January 2009. Mark is a qualified chartered accountant.

Mark's conditions of employment from the date he steps down as a director to 31 August 2017 will continue in accordance with his service contract. Mark will be eligible for a bonus in relation to the 2016 financial year in relation to performance during 2016 measured against a basket of metrics and objectives on a comparable basis to the other executive directors. The 2016 bonus will be subject to deferral in accordance with the Company's remuneration policy.  Mark will not be entitled to a bonus in relation to the 2017 financial year.

As Mark has confirmed to the Company that he is retiring from executive and full time work, Mark will qualify as a good leaver under the Company's Share Bonus Plan and Performance Share Plan. Unvested share awards under the Company's Share Bonus Plan will fully vest on the applicable vesting date in accordance with the rules of the bonus scheme. Unvested Performance Share Plan awards will vest based on and subject to performance to the end of the relevant performance period in accordance with and subject to the rules of the 2014 Performance Share Plan (2014 PSP).  Vested awards will be released, as soon as practicable, in equal tranches following announcement of the annual results after the third, fourth and fifth anniversaries of the start of the performance period.  Vested awards will be pro-rated in accordance with the rules of the 2014 PSP.

Mark's retirement arrangements are consistent with the Company's remuneration policy for 2016 as detailed in the 2015 Directors' Remuneration Report and approved by shareholders in 2014.

3. Established in 1836, Legal & General is a leading provider of insurance, savings and investment management products in the UK. The Group has a market capitalisation of £14.5bn (as at 21 December 2016) and is responsible for investing £841.5bn worldwide (as at 30 June 2016) on behalf of investors, policyholders and shareholders.

4. Legal & General has over seven million customers in the UK for life assurance, pensions, investments and general insurance plans and over one million customers in the US who rely on us for life assurance.

5. In 2015, Legal & General's operating profit (IFRS basis) was £1,455m and adjusted earnings per share were 18.58p for the period, an increase of 14% and 11% respectively. For H1 2016 Legal & General's adjusted operating profit was £822m, an increase of 10%, profit before tax attributable to equity holders was £826m, an increase of 23%, adjusted earnings per share were 11.20p for the period, an increase of 14%, and net cash generation of £727m, an increase of 16%.

For more information on Legal & General, please see http://www.legalandgeneralgroup.com/

Forward-looking statements

This announcement may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to Legal & General, its plans and its current goals and expectations relating to future financial condition, performance and results. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances which are beyond Legal & General's control, including, among others, UK domestic and global economic and business conditions, market related risks such as fluctuations in interest rates and exchange rates, the policies and actions of regulatory and Governmental authorities, the impact of competition, the timing impact of these events and other uncertainties of future acquisition or combinations within relevant industries. As a result, Legal & General's actual future condition, performance and results may differ materially from the plans, goals and expectations set out in these forward-looking statements and persons reading this announcement should not place reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made only as at the date on which such statements are made and Legal & General Group Plc does not undertake to update forward-looking statements contained in this announcement or any other forward-looking statement it may make.

 

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