Directorate Change
Lloyds TSB Group PLC
26 January 2006
26 January 2006
LLOYDS TSB GROUP CHAIRMAN
Lloyds TSB Group has announced that after five years, Maarten van den Bergh has
decided to retire as Chairman of the Group. Maarten will be succeeded by Sir
Victor Blank, currently Chairman of GUS and Trinity Mirror and a member of the
Financial Reporting Council, who will join the board of Lloyds TSB Group as
Deputy Chairman on 1 March 2006 and take on the role of Chairman when Maarten
retires at this year's Annual General Meeting in May.
Maarten van den Bergh said: "I am delighted that Sir Victor is going to succeed
me as Chairman. With his clear understanding of large, complex organisations and
many years of experience in both retailing and financial services, he has an
excellent track record. Lloyds TSB is a business with great heritage and scope
for growth. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here and I wish the Group well for
the future."
Eric Daniels, Chief Executive of Lloyds TSB Group, said: "Maarten has made a
tremendous contribution to the Group over the last five years and I shall miss
his wise counsel and support. We greatly appreciate the role he has played in
reshaping the board and further strengthening the governance of the
organisation. I am very pleased at the appointment of Sir Victor, whose blend of
retailing and financial services experience will be invaluable to the Group
going forward."
Sir Victor Blank said: "I am really looking forward to becoming Chairman of one
of the UK's leading financial services companies. Lloyds TSB is an organisation
with great potential and I am excited at the prospect of working with the board
and the senior team to develop the business for the future."
Sir Victor Blank was selected for nomination after a thorough search in
which the board was assisted by Egon Zehnder International. The process
was led by the senior independent non-executive director, Ewan Brown,
and the nomination committee for this purpose comprised all the
independent non-executive directors. Candidates were interviewed by
several directors and the decision was taken by the whole board, on
the recommendation of the nomination committee.
It has already been announced that Sir Victor Blank will retire from the board
of Trinity Mirror at its Annual General Meeting in May this year. As announced
by GUS plc today, he will remain as Chairman of GUS until the proposed
separation of its businesses, announced last year, but will have no continuing
role in these businesses after that.
In deciding to nominate Sir Victor Blank as Chairman, the board considered the
provision of the combined code on corporate governance, issued by the Financial
Reporting Council, that no individual should be appointed to a second
chairmanship of a FTSE 100 company. The board concluded that Sir Victor was an
outstanding candidate with exceptional skills, knowledge and experience, both as
a FTSE 100 company chairman and in the financial services industry, and in
consultation with him, both the Lloyds TSB board and the GUS board have agreed
that he would be able to devote sufficient time to his roles.
Lloyds TSB Group acknowledges Sir Victor's responsibilities as chairman of two
FTSE 100 companies for a transitional period but the board feels that his
experience will enable him to discharge his duties fully during that time. The
senior independent non-executive director, Ewan Brown, also recognises the
importance of his role in being available to shareholders, especially during
this transitional period.
Both the ABI and the NAPF have been consulted, in line with the principles of
the combined code.
- ends -
Notes:
1. Biographical details attached.
2. To comply with paragraph LR 9.6.13R of the UK Listing Authority listing
rules, the company confirms that:
i. in addition to the information shown above, during the past five years,
Sir Victor Blank relinquished his directorships in Coats and Chubb, both
of which were publicly quoted companies; and
ii. there are no matters required by paragraphs LR 9.6.13R (2) to (6) of the
listing rules to be disclosed in relation to Sir Victor Blank.
Biography:
Sir Victor Blank was educated at Stockport Grammar School and at St Catherine's
College, Oxford where he attained an MA in Modern History. He joined the law
firm, Clifford-Turner (now Clifford Chance) and in 1969 he was made a partner of
Clifford Turner. Specialising in corporate law, especially take-overs and
mergers, Victor Blank co-wrote the textbook Weinberg & Blank on Take-overs and
Mergers.
In 1981, Sir Victor joined Charterhouse as Head of Corporate Finance and was
Chairman and Chief Executive from 1985 until 1996. Charterhouse was one of the
first houses to be involved in the development capital and private equity
markets and was very active in the major corporate finance deals of the 1980's
and 1990's. He was a director of The Royal Bank of Scotland from 1985 to 1993.
Sir Victor Blank is Chairman of Trinity Mirror plc (since September 1999) and of
GUS plc, formerly The Great Universal Stores plc (since July 2000). He was
knighted in the New Year's Honours List in 1999 for services to the financial
industry and is a member of the Financial Reporting Council and the CBI
Boardroom Issues Group.
Outside business, Sir Victor is actively involved in a number of educational,
charitable and communal activities. At the University of Oxford, he is a Member
of Council, advisor to the Environmental Change Institute, an Honorary Fellow of
St. Catherine's College and Vice President of Oxford Philomusica. He is also
Chairman of Governors of University College School in London and a Governor of
Tel Aviv University. His charitable interests include WellBeing of Women, the
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' health research charity and
UJS/Hillel, both of which he chairs, and membership of the Advisory Board of the
United Jewish Israel Appeal. He is also a member of the Advisory Council of the
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
For further information:
Investor Relations +44 (0) 20 7356 2167
Michael Oliver
Director of Investor Relations
E-mail: michael.oliver@ltsb-finance.co.uk
Media
+44 (0) 20 7356 2121
Mary Walsh
Director of Corporate Relations
E-mail: mary.walsh@lloydstsb.co.uk
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This announcement contains forward looking statements with respect to the
business, strategy and plans of the Lloyds TSB Group and its current goals and
expectations relating to its future financial condition and performance.
Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Lloyds TSB
Group's or management's beliefs and expectations, are forward looking
statements. By their nature, forward looking statements involve risk and
uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will
occur in the future. Lloyds TSB Group's actual future results may differ
materially from the results expressed or implied in these forward looking
statements as a result of a variety of factors, including UK domestic and global
economic and business conditions, risks concerning borrower credit quality,
market related risks such as interest rate risk and exchange rate risk in its
banking businesses and equity risk in its insurance businesses, inherent risks
regarding changing demographic developments, catastrophic weather and similar
contingencies outside Lloyds TSB Group's control, any adverse experience in
inherent operational risks, any unexpected developments in regulation or
regulatory actions, changes in customer preferences, competition, industry
consolidation, acquisitions and other factors. For more information on these and
other factors, please refer to Lloyds TSB Group's Annual Report on Form 20-F
filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and to any subsequent
reports furnished by Lloyds TSB Group to the US Securities and Exchange
Commission or to the London Stock Exchange. The forward looking statements
contained in this announcement are made as of the date hereof, and Lloyds TSB
Group undertakes no obligation to update any of its forward looking statements.
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