Legal & General, the FTSE 100 insurer and asset manager, has appointed António Simões as its first new chief executive in more than a decade to replace Sir Nigel Wilson.
Simões joins from Santander, where he has been regional head of Europe since 2020, and will take up the role in January. He previously spent 13 years at HSBC, including as the UK and Europe chief executive.
Legal & General chair Sir John Kingman said Simões stood out in an “excellent field” of candidates for his “energy, ambition and clarity of strategic thinking”, as well as his “strong belief in the positive role that business should play in society”.
The life insurance group is the UK’s biggest asset manager, investing more than £1.2tn for clients. Under Wilson, it has focused on “inclusive capitalism”, funding long-term assets such as housing developments and infrastructure.
Announcing the appointment of Simões on Thursday, L&G said it had run a “rigorous, global selection process”. He will receive a base salary of £1.2mn plus bonuses, pension and compensation for lost remuneration from leaving his current position.
Before HSBC, Simões was a partner at consultancy McKinsey in London and also previously worked at Goldman Sachs. He has an MBA from Columbia University.
Wilson, who also started out at McKinsey and had served in executive roles outside of insurance before joining the group in 2009, will remain as chief executive until January, working with Simões on the handover.
L&G’s shares fell more than 2 per cent following the news, against a broadly flat FTSE 100 index.
“We see this as a somewhat surprising appointment as many investors had expected an internal appointment given L&G’s unique business model, clearly defined strategy and strong management bench strength,” said analysts at Citi.
They added there would be questions about the new chief executive’s experience with the UK life insurance business “and the longer-term implications for the internal candidates that didn’t receive the role”.
The group’s chief financial officer, Jeff Davies, was among the candidates considered for the role, according to people familiar with the matter.
A person familiar with the board’s thinking highlighted Simões’ record in running big businesses, and said he would be tasked with defining the next stage of L&G’s strategy, including how to grow its international operations.
Analysts at Barclays said the appointment of Simões might come as a surprise to the market, given his “past experience is focused on banking and strategy”.
“However, L&G has a strong management team with long tenures, which, in our view, should provide a supportive network as Mr Simões takes over as CEO,” they added.
