Response to the Davies Report on Women on Boards

RNS Number : 0472O

Old Mutual PLC

12 September 2011

 



Ref 124/11

12 September 2011

Old Mutual plc - Response to the Davies Report on Women on Boards

In response to the Davies Report on Women on Boards, Old Mutual plc's Chairman, Patrick O'Sullivan, said today:

"Old Mutual aims to recruit and retain staff, at all levels of the organisation, from as wide and diverse a background as possible. The composition of the Board is a matter for the Nomination Committee, which I chair.  Our guiding principle is that successful candidates should be the best qualified for that role, subject to local law, but we also seek to have an appropriate balance of skills, experience and diversity represented on the parent company Board.  

We currently have a significant element of diversity at that Board level, with directors from South Africa, the UK, Ireland, Sweden and Spain, and we intend to build on this base over the next three to four years. We now have one female director out of our complement of 11 and we are aiming to increase this to at least two by the end of 2013 and to at least three by the end of 2015, while bearing in mind that all Board appointments require prior approval by the FSA."

Julian Roberts, Group Chief Executive, added:

"For our business to succeed, our culture has to be one of inclusion and opportunity for all our staff. Only by addressing diversity throughout each level will we achieve over time the appropriate gender balance at the Executive levels.  I believe that we can do more to encourage our very talented female senior managers around the Group to progress to the highest positions in the organisation and I am ensuring that gender diversity is actively considered when developing and recruiting candidates for senior roles around the Group."

Enquiries

External Communications
Patrick Bowes		[phone]
Media
William Baldwin-Charles		[phone]

Notes to Editors

Old Mutual

Old Mutual plc is an international long-term savings, protection and investment Group.  Originating in South Africa in 1845, the Group provides life assurance, asset management, banking and general insurance to more than 15 million customers in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.  Old Mutual plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, among others.

In the year ended 31 December 2010, the Group reported adjusted operating profit before tax of £1.5 billion (on an IFRS basis) and had £309 billion of funds under management, from core operations. 

The Board of the Company currently comprises the Chairman, Patrick O'Sullivan, who is Irish, the Group Chief Executive, Julian Roberts, the Group Finance Director, Philip Broadley, and eight non-executive Directors, of whom two are South African (Reuel Khoza and Bongani Nqwababa), one is Swedish (Lars Otterbeck) and one is Spanish (Eva Castillo).

For further information on Old Mutual plc, please visit the corporate website at www.oldmutual.com 

The Davies Report

The Davies Report on Women on Boards can be accessed at http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/business-law/docs/w/11-745-women-on-boards.pdf

 

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