11th Mar 2008 07:02
Friends Provident PLC11 March 2008 11 March 2008 Friends Provident plc Directorate Change Friends Provident plc announces today that Jim Smart, its Chief FinancialOfficer, is to leave the company in the summer. Jim Smart joined the Board of Friends Provident in November 2006 and wasappointed to his current position on 1 January 2007. He had been expected toleave the company under the terms of its proposed merger with Resolution plclast year. Following the termination of that merger agreement, he agreed toremain with Friends Provident to lead a detailed review of its strategicoptions. The results of this review which, when implemented will transform thecompany into a more streamlined, more focused and more profitable business, wereannounced on 31 January. With the review now complete, and implementation underway, Jim Smart hasconfirmed his intention to leave the company to pursue other opportunities andthe Board has accepted his resignation. He will be leaving the company after itsinterim results, which are due to be announced in August 2008. By this timeTrevor Matthews will have joined the company as Group Chief Executive. Sir Adrian Montague, executive chairman, said: "Jim Smart has made a tremendous impact in his time with Friends Provident. TheBoard is grateful that he put his own plans on hold to work on the strategicreview and that he will stay with us until the summer. By that time, theimplementation of the review will be well advanced and we will have a new chiefexecutive in place. Jim leaves the company with our best wishes for his futurecareer." Jim Smart said: "I am pleased to have helped Adrian set Friends Provident on the right courseand to have repositioned the company towards those areas where it has truecompetitive advantage. It has been an eventful period in this company'sdevelopment and I am now looking forward to a new challenge." Ends For further information, please contact: Nick Boakes Friends Provident plc +44 (0) 845 641 7814Vanessa Neill Finsbury Limited +44 (0) 20 7251 3801Alex Simmons Finsbury Limited +44 (0) 20 7251 3801 Ref: I027 Notes to Editors About Friends Provident: Friends Provident is a leading UK financial services group and a constituent ofthe FTSE100 Index. Founded in 1832 to alleviate the hardship of Quaker familiesfacing misfortune, Friends Provident remains committed to achieving highstandards of corporate behaviour and accountability. In the UK, Friends Provident provides a range of protection, pensions andinvestment products for individual customers and corporate clients. Friends Provident International operates across territories in Europe, Asia, andthe Middle East. Friends Provident wholly owns the Luxembourg-based company Lombard InternationalAssurance, which specialises in the use of life assurance as a specialist wealthmanagement structure for high net-worth investors. Friends Provident holds a majority stake in F&C Asset Management plc - managingfunds of some £104bn (as at 31 December 2007) and marketing a wide range ofinvestment products both to personal and institutional customers. For more information on Friends Provident including, photos, awards, fast facts,presentations, and media contacts please visit the media section atwww.friendsprovident.com/media This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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