Latest news with #MarkTucker
Mint
7 days ago
- Business
- Mint
HSBC Hastens Search to Find Next Chairman as Tucker's Exit Nears
(Bloomberg) -- With the clock ticking in the hunt for HSBC Holdings Plc's next chairman, Europe's largest bank is speeding its efforts to assemble a list of candidates for the role. Chairman Mark Tucker's announcement last week that he would leave HSBC in September to take on a non-executive chairman role at AIA Group Ltd. came as a surprise to some of his fellow board members, who thought they'd have more time to find his replacement, according to people familiar with the matter. As the board convened in Hong Kong this week to discuss potential successors, it remains an open contest for the job, they said, asking not to be identified discussing non-public information. Senior independent director Ann Godbehere — the director in charge of choosing Tucker's successor — has yet to produce a final shortlist of names for the role, though high-profile finance figures like Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s Richard Gnodde and Kevin Sneader are under consideration, the people said. 'Tucker's expedited departure could mean an overly compressed timetable for what is a critical appointment,' said John Cronin, a financials industry research analyst at SeaPoint Insights. 'Tucker's shoes will be difficult to fill.' Among the qualities needed for any candidate will be an in-depth knowledge of Asia, where HSBC is doubling down as part of Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery's broader plans for the company. In addition to deep experience of the banking industry, the board is also hoping to find someone with a background in wealth management as HSBC looks to become the world's largest player in that space outside of the US in the coming years. The role will also require someone with diplomatic skills as HSBC is forced to navigate the increasingly unpredictable relationship between the US and China. Process Underway Godbehere's committee has had recruiters from the London-based executive search firm MWM Consulting working for months to help find Tucker's replacement, the people familiar with the matter said. While Tucker had previously tipped he would be gone before the end of the year, the news that he would depart on Sept. 30 to return to the Hong Kong-based insurer accelerated the succession planning, the people familiar with matter said. 'The process to appoint a new chairman is underway,' HSBC said in a statement. 'We will provide an update in due course.' Tucker spent years establishing himself as the unquestioned power inside HSBC. He ultimately appointed four different CEOs during his tenure and was credited for helping to defuse a yearlong row between the bank and investor Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. after the Chinese insurer launched a campaign to force a break up of the bank. Whoever takes up Tucker's mantle will take on the chairmanship at a time of dramatic change at HSBC, which has spent the best part of the last year enmeshed in a broad restructuring as Elhedery has slashed jobs, merged divisions, and reshaped the bank's top executive committee. With the company short on time, attention has turned to those already on HSBC's board who could be parachuted into the role immediately. HSBC has a habit of turning temporary office holders into permanent replacements and the board's 76-year-old interim chair Brendan Nelson is one option the board is considering for the gig, the people familiar with the matter said. Directors are also weighing the merits of Gnodde, a vice chairman of Goldman who previously headed their international business, and Sneader, the former global managing partner of McKinsey & Co. who now leads Goldman's Asia Pacific business outside of Japan. Sky News first reported Sneader was a potential candidate for the role. Sneader's experience in Asian markets and being based in Hong Kong are a plus, though the circumstances of his departure from McKinsey — he was voted out of the consulting giant amid an uproar over its role in fueling the opioid crisis in America — could also make his candidacy a challenge. Gnodde also has experience in Asia, having run Goldman's business in the region in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He ultimately played a leading role in expanding the bank's footprint in the region and securing access to China's securities markets. Former Citigroup Inc. executive James Forese, who has sat on the bank's board for the past five years, is another possible contender. But his time on the board means he would hit the nine-year term limit that the UK enforces on board directors before the end of the decade. Other possible contenders are former HSBC executives. Foremost among them is Stuart Gulliver, who stepped down shortly after Tucker took over as chairman back in late 2017. Clive Bannister, a former HSBC banker who went on to become CEO of Phoenix Group Plc, is another prospective option. Representatives for MWM Consulting as well as Gnodde, Sneader, Bannister, Gulliver, Forese and Nelson either declined or did not respond to requests for comment. HSBC has a history of hurried successions, the most dramatic of which was Tucker's ouster of CEO John Flint in 2019. The bank then came close to appointing Jean-Pierre Mustier, UniCredit SpA's CEO at the time, only to rescind the offer at the last minute. --With assistance from Sridhar Natarajan, Denise Wee and Katherine Griffiths. More stories like this are available on
Bloomberg
7 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
HSBC Hastens Search to Find Next Chairman as Tucker's Exit Nears
With the clock ticking in the hunt for HSBC Holdings Plc 's next chairman, Europe's largest bank is speeding its efforts to assemble a list of candidates for the role. Chairman Mark Tucker's announcement last week that he would leave HSBC in September to take on a non-executive chairman role at AIA Group Ltd. came as a surprise to some of his fellow board members, who thought they'd have more time to find his replacement, according to people familiar with the matter.
Reuters
10-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Breakingviews - HSBC chair's AIA move less startling than it seems
MELBOURNE, June 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Never get back together with your ex, they say. Departing HSBC (HSBA.L), opens new tab, ( opens new tab Chair Mark Tucker is ignoring such advice. He's returning to AIA ( opens new tab, where he served as CEO from 2010 to 2017 before joining the UK bank, as head of its board, the $91 billion Hong Kong-based insurer said on Friday, opens new tab. It seems like a backward step. But it's not as startling as it looks. It's not the cleanest of appointments from a governance perspective: elevating a former boss to be chair is generally frowned upon outside of the U.S., where the practice remains common, as it raises concerns the old CEO might try to exert undue control. Tucker should be deemed as independent under Hong Kong Stock Exchange criteria, which encourages a two-year gap since holding an executive role. He has been gone for eight years, and current Lee Yuan Siong, CEO since 2020, joined after his departure. That said, AIA will want Tucker atop the board in part because of the reputation he built at the UK bank for being a hands-on chair willing to shake things up. It won't be lost on Lee for example, that HSBC had four CEOs during Tucker's eight-year tenure. AIA's earnings have grown slightly over the past five years, but its stock is essentially flat over that period - and rival Prudential (PRU.L), opens new tab has been closing the valuation gap. Tucker's soon-to-be fellow board members might not be able to rest easy, either: half of the 10 independent directors have been there for more than a decade, making the staid roster ripe for change. What's more curious is why Tucker wants to go back. AIA, while no minnow, is smaller than the $206 billion bank he currently sits atop by earnings, market value, geographic scope and diversity of businesses. That could have served, for example, as a springboard to another global institution, including U.S.-based ones - Tucker at present lives in New York. But being AIA chair is an appealing role for someone with his experience of and interest in China. Tucker has focused on the region for much of his career, having run the UK's Hong Kong and China-heavy Prudential before becoming AIA's CEO. During his tenure at HSBC, the bank built up substantial operations in the mainland, and Hong Kong is its largest profit centre with around a third of pretax earnings. In January he led the business delegation that accompanied UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves on the government's most important trip to the People's Republic since 2018. If the stars align, his new role at his old flame could make for a productive relationship. Follow Antony Currie on Bluesky, opens new tab and LinkedIn, opens new tab.
Daily Mail
06-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Candidate emerges as HSBC hunts for new chairman
A former McKinsey boss turned Goldman Sachs banker has been tipped to replace Mark Tucker as chairman of HSBC. City sources told the Mail that Scottish-born Kevin Sneader has been approached about taking Tucker's job when he leaves in September to become chairman of Hong Kong-based insurer AIA. Sneader, 59, left his job as boss of management consultant giant McKinsey in 2021 following a string of crises. He is now president of Asia-Pacific at Goldman Sachs. It was announced last month that Tucker, 67, would retire by the end of 2025, ending an eight-year tenure at the helm of the bank's board. AIA confirmed he would start his role as non-executive chairman on October 1 – a move that sees him return to the group he led as chief executive for seven years until 2017.
Straits Times
06-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
HSBC chair Mark Tucker to return to Asia insurer AIA after overseeing bank overhaul
HSBC chairman Mark Tucker will depart HSBC by Sept 30 and will step into the role of AIA chairman on Oct 1. PHOTO: REUTERS HONG KONG - HSBC Holdings' high-profile chairman Mark Tucker will return to the insurance sector as chair of Hong Kong-based AIA Group, after having presided over top management changes and navigated Sino-US tensions at the Asia-focused lender. Mr Tucker will depart HSBC by Sept 30 and will step into the role of AIA chairman on Oct 1, the two companies said in separate statements on June 6. Mr Tucker served as AIA chief executive and president between 2010 and 2017. Mr Brendan Nelson, a former KPMG partner and board member who is the chair of HSBC's group audit committee, would become interim chairman from Oct 1, as the bank continues with its search for a permanent replacement, it said. Mr Tucker's departure from HSBC, which generates the bulk of its revenues and profits in Asia, will cap an eventful eight-year tenure at the lender, during which he oversaw a sweeping restructuring and shrinking of the bank. Under Mr Tucker's stewardship, HSBC has had to deal with a constant drumbeat of geopolitical tensions, as Britain, together with the US, clashed with China, where the bank has its second home and major profit engine in the financial hub of Hong Kong. Those experiences, as well as his deep Asia and insurance sector expertise, will stand him in good stead in the new role at AIA, as the pan-Asian insurer looks to bolster market share in the key markets of mainland China and Hong Kong. Mr Tucker will replace Mr Edmund Sze-Wing Tse as AIA's chairman. Shares in AIA were up 1.8 per cent, while Hong Kong shares of HSBC were down 0.3 per cent. Hong Kong's benchmark index was off 0.2 per cent. Besides mainland China and Hong Kong, AIA's 18 markets in Asia include Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, the Philippines and South Korea. It also has a joint venture in India. A one-time professional soccer player, Mr Tucker, who took AIA public shortly after his appointment in 2010, has previously held several leadership jobs in the insurance sector, including at Britain's Prudential. His departure from HSBC was not a surprise. He was nearing the end of the nine-year maximum advised for chair roles under Britain's corporate governance code, and the bank announced on May 1 that he would step down before the end of the year. Since joining HSBC in 2017, becoming the bank's first-ever externally recruited chairman, British-born Tucker worked with four different CEOs, and he was involved in the selection of three of them. Mr Tucker was seen by investors, analysts and insiders as a key person at the bank to help it navigate geopolitical tensions and expand its business in China as part of its Asia pivot to boost growth. Geopolitical tensions came to a head for HSBC in May 2023 when its then-biggest shareholder, Ping An Insurance of China, lobbied for the bank to spin off its Asian business, a proposal ultimately defeated at HSBC's annual shareholder meeting. HSBC's senior independent director Ann Godbehere said the selection process to appoint a permanent chairman was underway. Mr Tucker will serve as a strategic adviser to CEO Georges Elhedery and the board while the recruitment search remains in place. 'Brendan's extensive experience on UK-listed boards, and as Group Audit Chair, makes him ideally placed to assume the role on an interim basis while the process continues,' Ms Godbehere said of Mr Nelson. He previously served as an independent non-executive director at several major UK-listed companies, including oil giant BP and financial services firm NatWest. HSBC is expected to search for Mr Tucker's successor from its current board, sources familiar with the bank's plans told Reuters. Among the leading candidates is former Citigroup President Jamie Forese, the sources said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
