Helena Morrissey has joined St James's Place as a non-executive director, bringing the representation of women on the company's board to one in three members.
An industry stalwart of gender diversity in the financial services sector, Dame Helena founded the the 30% Club in 2010 which campaigns to make boardrooms 30 per cent female.
She also chairs the investment-focused Diversity Project and most recently stepped down from her role as head of personal investing at Legal & General Investment Management, a position she had held since 2017.
Prior to that Dame Helena headed up global investment manager Newton Investment Management from 2001 to 2016, having joined the company in 1984.
Dame Helena said: "St James's Place has been a huge success story in terms of growth and the provision of excellent service to its clients over the past three decades.
"The board's strategic priorities include continuing to improve important matters such as culture, inclusion and diversity, and I look forward to using the experience and insights I have gained throughout my career to help the company do this."
SJP currently manages more than £112.8bn of funds and Dame Helena will join its board as of January 1, 2020.
Iain Cornish, chairman of SJP, said: "I am delighted that Helena is joining the board of St James's Place. Her expertise in financial services, insight into investment management and experience of running a major asset management company will be of great value to the board.
Mr Cornish said attracting a "diverse range of talent" to St James's Place was a priority for its board.
He added: "While I am pleased that Helena's appointment takes the proportion of women on our board to a third, there is always more to do in relation to inclusion and diversity across the business, and we will continue to make progress on this."
rachel.mortimer@ft.com
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