10th Jan 2007 07:02
Aviva PLC10 January 2007 News release 10 January 2007 AVIVA ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT OF RICHARD HARVEY IN JULY 2007 AND APPOINTS ANDREW MOSS TO SUCCEED HIM AS GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE Aviva plc ("Aviva") the savings, investments and insurance group, has announcedtoday that, after almost a decade in a CEO role, Richard Harvey has expressedhis intention to retire as group chief executive on 11 July 2007. The Board is delighted to announce that Andrew Moss, currently Aviva's groupfinance director, will succeed Richard following his retirement as group chiefexecutive. Philip Scott, currently executive director, Aviva International,will become group finance director and Patrick Snowball, appointed executivedirector, Aviva UK, in January last year, will continue to be responsible forNorwich Union, RAC and Aviva's offshore services. Lord Sharman of Redlynch, Aviva's chairman, said: "Richard Harvey is a class actby anyone's standards. His professionalism, skill, and foresight have made alasting, positive contribution not only to Aviva but to the internationalinsurance industry. "When I became Aviva's chairman, Richard signalled to me that he may not want tostay until the normal retirement age of 60. This is characteristic of hisopenness, integrity, capacity for thinking well-ahead and innate desire to dowhat is right. I respect his wish to apply his many and varied talents to otherventures, all of which will undoubtedly benefit from his visionary insight andstrong leadership. "I am delighted that Andrew Moss has agreed to succeed Richard as Aviva's groupchief executive. He has extensive knowledge of the insurance sector and anexcellent track record in the international financial services industry. I amlooking forward to working with him as he leads Aviva through the next phase ofits growth. "Philip Scott will bring his exemplary track record in building Aviva'sbusinesses outside the UK, together with his actuarial and financial knowledge,to the role of group finance director, and Patrick Snowball will continue todrive forward his successful programme of change within the UK businesses." Richard Harvey led the successful demutualisation of Norwich Union in 1997 andthen, in 2000, led the merger of the company with CGU to create Aviva, the UK'slargest insurance group and the fifth largest in the world. He has made a majorcontribution to the savings, investment and insurance industry as group chiefexecutive of Aviva and as a former chairman and current board member of theAssociation of British Insurers (ABI), deputy chairman of the GenevaAssociation, member of the European Financial Services Roundtable (EFR), formerchairman of the ABI European Committee and former board member of the ComiteEuropeen des Assurances (CEA). He is also a member of the CBI's President'sCommittee. Commenting today, Richard Harvey said: "I am proud of having helped to create inAviva a business that has scale, presence and identity in more than 25 marketsacross the world. Aviva is now one of the outright leaders in the globalinsurance industry with an increasingly powerful brand that is instantlyrecognisable and highly differentiated in international markets. With almost 10years as a CEO under my belt, there are other dimensions to my life and otherthings I want to achieve in both international charity work and the businessworld. "Now is the right time for me to set out on my next adventure while I have theenergy and desire to make a difference. Having built a management team at Avivawhich has real strength and depth I know that I will leave the company in experthands." Andrew Moss joined Aviva as group finance director in May 2004. At Aviva, hehas developed and enhanced the group finance function worldwide and led theearly adoption of EEV and IFRS reporting standards ahead of the industry. He isan authority on risk and capital management, and a member of the CFO Forum. Hewas previously at Lloyd's of London where he was director of finance, riskmanagement and operations. Before that, he held a number of international rolesat HSBC, including CFO, investment banking and markets, and head of group assetand liability management. Commenting today, Andrew Moss said: "I am very excited at the prospect ofleading Aviva through the next stage in its development. Aviva is a highquality and distinctive company which is earning a reputation for excellence inthe global marketplace. I am looking forward to working with our strong,dedicated and talented management team as we build on our worldwide platform andidentify new opportunities for growth." In addition to his role as group finance director, Philip Scott will retain hisresponsibility for Morley Fund Management. An announcement will be made in duecourse regarding the management of the other businesses for which he iscurrently responsible. The appointments are all effective from 12 July 2007. ends Enquiries Media Hayley Stimpson, director of external affairs +44 (0)20 7662 7544Sue Winston, head of group media relations +44 (0)20 7662 8221Rob Bailhache, Financial Dynamics +44 (0)20 7269 7200 Analysts Charles Barrows, investor relations director +44 (0)20 7662 8115Jessie Burrows, head of investor relations +44 (0)20 7662 2111 Notes to editors Governance: • The board was assisted and advised on the process of appointing a newchief executive by Anna Mann of MWM Consulting. As part of the successionprocess the board prepared an 'ideal candidate' profile and identified ashortlist of external candidates considered able to match the profile, againstwhich the company's internal candidates were benchmarked. Based on thisassessment the internal candidates were interviewed and assessed by a number ofAviva's independent non-executive directors following which the group'snomination committee was able to make a recommendation to the board. Executive biographies: • Richard Harvey, 56, joined the group in 1992 as chief executive ofNorwich Union's New Zealand interests. He returned to the UK in 1993 as generalmanager (finance). As group finance director, he was instrumental in thedemutualisation and flotation of Norwich Union in 1997 and, following a periodas deputy group chief executive, became group chief executive of Norwich Unionon 1 January 1998. His notable achievements include the successful merger ofNorwich Union and CGU in May 2000 to create Aviva, the world's fifth largestinsurance group, a leading insurer in Europe and the biggest UK insurer. Sincethen, Aviva has developed its international footprint, primarily in long-termsavings in Europe and Asia, and has become a world leader in bancassurance. Itacquired RAC in 2005 which enabled the group's UK general insurance business tocreate a powerful new force in the UK insurance and motoring services industry.More recently, he has overseen the acquisition of AmerUs, a leader in thehigh-growth US indexed market, which expands Aviva's US presence four-fold. • Andrew Moss, 48, joined Aviva in May 2004 as group finance director,becoming a main board director at that time. He joined Aviva from Lloyd's ofLondon where he was director - finance, risk management and operations. Heformerly held a number of international senior management positions in HSBC.Andrew is a chartered accountant and is a member of the Association of CorporateTreasurers. • Philip Scott, 53, is currently responsible for the group'sinternational long-term savings and general insurance businesses in NorthAmerica and Asia-Pacific. He is also responsible for Morley Fund Management andwill retain this responsibility in his new role. Philip joined Norwich Union in1973 and held a number of senior positions before joining the board of NorwichUnion in 1993. He was previously chief executive and executive chairman ofNorwich Union Life, Aviva's long-term savings business in the UK. He is aFellow of the Institute of Actuaries. • Patrick Snowball, 56, is responsible for Aviva's UK businesses, namelyNorwich Union Insurance, Norwich Union Life and RAC. He is also the executivedirector with responsibility for Aviva Global Services, the group's offshoreoperations. Patrick joined the group in 1989, holding a number of seniormanagement positions before joining the board of Norwich Union in 1999. He is amember of the Financial Services Authority's practitioner panel. About Aviva: • Aviva is one of the leading providers of life and pensions to Europewith substantial positions in other markets around the world, making it theworld's fifth largest insurance group based on gross worldwide premiums at 31December 2005. • Aviva's principal business activities are long-term savings, fundmanagement and general insurance, with worldwide total sales of £36 billion andassets under management of £322 billion at 31 December 2005. Photography: • Photographs of all Aviva board members can be downloaded from theAviva image library at www.aviva.com/media This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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