Phoenix Group has appointed Alastair Barbour as interim chairman to takeover while its current chairman serves as the Lord Mayor of the City of London.
Barbour is currently the group's senior independent director and will assume the role of interim chairperson from September 1.
He will hold the role until Nicholas Lyons finishes his term as Lord Mayor, which is due to end in November 2023.
Lyons will formally resign from the board, as well as head of the nomination committee, for the period.
Lyons said he is very grateful that the board, regulators and the company’s major investors have been so supportive of him accepting the Lord Mayor role.
He said: “I look forward to having the opportunity to help promote the UK's world-leading financial and professional services sectors and London as the pre-eminent global financial centre.".
In an announcement today (February 23), Phoenix Group said Karen Green will succeed Barbour as senior independent director, commencing from May 5.
Green is currently the chairperson of the board's sustainability committee and non-executive director for workforce engagement.
Katie Murray, group chief financial officer for Natwest Group, has also joined the board as an independent non-executive director.
Murray joined Natwest in 2015 and prior to that was the group finance director for Old Mutual Emerging Markets. She is a chartered accountant and spent 13 years at KPMG.
Speaking about Murray’s appointment, Lyons said the board is looking forward to her wealth of experience.
He said: “Katie brings deep finance and accounting skills built through her experience at a senior executive level across both the banking and insurance sectors, as well as her earlier private practice background."
The moves are all subject to regulatory approval.
sally.hickey@ft.com
