26th Jan 2006 10:00
Lloyds TSB Group PLC26 January 2006 26 January 2006 LLOYDS TSB GROUP CHAIRMAN Lloyds TSB Group has announced that after five years, Maarten van den Bergh hasdecided to retire as Chairman of the Group. Maarten will be succeeded by SirVictor Blank, currently Chairman of GUS and Trinity Mirror and a member of theFinancial Reporting Council, who will join the board of Lloyds TSB Group asDeputy Chairman on 1 March 2006 and take on the role of Chairman when Maartenretires at this year's Annual General Meeting in May. Maarten van den Bergh said: "I am delighted that Sir Victor is going to succeedme as Chairman. With his clear understanding of large, complex organisations andmany years of experience in both retailing and financial services, he has anexcellent track record. Lloyds TSB is a business with great heritage and scopefor growth. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here and I wish the Group well forthe future." Eric Daniels, Chief Executive of Lloyds TSB Group, said: "Maarten has made atremendous contribution to the Group over the last five years and I shall misshis wise counsel and support. We greatly appreciate the role he has played inreshaping the board and further strengthening the governance of theorganisation. I am very pleased at the appointment of Sir Victor, whose blend ofretailing and financial services experience will be invaluable to the Groupgoing forward." Sir Victor Blank said: "I am really looking forward to becoming Chairman of oneof the UK's leading financial services companies. Lloyds TSB is an organisationwith great potential and I am excited at the prospect of working with the boardand 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 boardof Trinity Mirror at its Annual General Meeting in May this year. As announcedby GUS plc today, he will remain as Chairman of GUS until the proposedseparation of its businesses, announced last year, but will have no continuingrole in these businesses after that. In deciding to nominate Sir Victor Blank as Chairman, the board considered theprovision of the combined code on corporate governance, issued by the FinancialReporting Council, that no individual should be appointed to a secondchairmanship of a FTSE 100 company. The board concluded that Sir Victor was anoutstanding candidate with exceptional skills, knowledge and experience, both asa FTSE 100 company chairman and in the financial services industry, and inconsultation with him, both the Lloyds TSB board and the GUS board have agreedthat he would be able to devote sufficient time to his roles. Lloyds TSB Group acknowledges Sir Victor's responsibilities as chairman of twoFTSE 100 companies for a transitional period but the board feels that hisexperience will enable him to discharge his duties fully during that time. Thesenior independent non-executive director, Ewan Brown, also recognises theimportance of his role in being available to shareholders, especially duringthis transitional period. Both the ABI and the NAPF have been consulted, in line with the principles ofthe 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'sCollege, Oxford where he attained an MA in Modern History. He joined the lawfirm, Clifford-Turner (now Clifford Chance) and in 1969 he was made a partner ofClifford Turner. Specialising in corporate law, especially take-overs andmergers, Victor Blank co-wrote the textbook Weinberg & Blank on Take-overs andMergers. In 1981, Sir Victor joined Charterhouse as Head of Corporate Finance and wasChairman and Chief Executive from 1985 until 1996. Charterhouse was one of thefirst houses to be involved in the development capital and private equitymarkets and was very active in the major corporate finance deals of the 1980'sand 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 ofGUS plc, formerly The Great Universal Stores plc (since July 2000). He wasknighted in the New Year's Honours List in 1999 for services to the financialindustry and is a member of the Financial Reporting Council and the CBIBoardroom 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 Memberof Council, advisor to the Environmental Change Institute, an Honorary Fellow ofSt. Catherine's College and Vice President of Oxford Philomusica. He is alsoChairman of Governors of University College School in London and a Governor ofTel Aviv University. His charitable interests include WellBeing of Women, theRoyal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' health research charity andUJS/Hillel, both of which he chairs, and membership of the Advisory Board of theUnited Jewish Israel Appeal. He is also a member of the Advisory Council of theOrchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. For further information: Investor Relations +44 (0) 20 7356 2167 Michael Oliver Director of Investor Relations E-mail: [email protected] Media +44 (0) 20 7356 2121Mary Walsh Director of Corporate Relations E-mail: [email protected] FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS This announcement contains forward looking statements with respect to thebusiness, strategy and plans of the Lloyds TSB Group and its current goals andexpectations relating to its future financial condition and performance.Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Lloyds TSBGroup's or management's beliefs and expectations, are forward lookingstatements. By their nature, forward looking statements involve risk anduncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that willoccur in the future. Lloyds TSB Group's actual future results may differmaterially from the results expressed or implied in these forward lookingstatements as a result of a variety of factors, including UK domestic and globaleconomic and business conditions, risks concerning borrower credit quality,market related risks such as interest rate risk and exchange rate risk in itsbanking businesses and equity risk in its insurance businesses, inherent risksregarding changing demographic developments, catastrophic weather and similarcontingencies outside Lloyds TSB Group's control, any adverse experience ininherent operational risks, any unexpected developments in regulation orregulatory actions, changes in customer preferences, competition, industryconsolidation, acquisitions and other factors. For more information on these andother factors, please refer to Lloyds TSB Group's Annual Report on Form 20-Ffiled with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and to any subsequentreports furnished by Lloyds TSB Group to the US Securities and ExchangeCommission or to the London Stock Exchange. The forward looking statementscontained in this announcement are made as of the date hereof, and Lloyds TSBGroup undertakes no obligation to update any of its forward looking statements. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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