James Hay has turned to LV for its new top boss, appointing Richard Rowney as its chief executive officer as Alastair Conway steps down.
The Sipp provider announced today (September 21) it has hired Mr Rowney, previously group chief executive of LV, to take over the helm.
James Hay did not say why Mr Conway, who was chief executive of James Hay for more than seven years, had stepped down.
Chairman Mark Dearsley said: “I would like to thank Alastair for leading the business over the last seven years, especially for steering it through change of ownership last year and the recent separation from Saunderson House. We wish him well for the future.”
Mr Dearsley said James Hay was “delighted” to have attracted a new leader of Mr Rowney’s calibre with such “strong strategic, operational and integration experience”.
He added: “Richard shares our ambition for the business and this is the right time for him to take the reins and drive James Hay through its next stage of growth.”
Mr Rowney added: “The advisory platform sector is set to be dominated by scale players who truly understand retirement planning, but who also have an unwavering commitment to supporting advisers.
“With its heritage and technical know-how, along with the right strategy and investment, James Hay has real potential to challenge the status quo.
“I’m therefore delighted to be joining the business and working with the team to ensure it achieves that potential.”
Mr Rowney spent 13 years at LV — three as group CEO, three as COO and the rest as head of the life and pensions division — after working at Barclays in the corporate and retail banking sector for 14 years.
He announced in December he was stepping down to “seek new opportunities” and was replaced by Zurich’s Mark Hartigan.
At LV, Mr Rowney oversaw the creation of the strategic partnership with Allianz to create one of the major players in the UK general insurance marketplace.
imogen.tew@ft.com
What do you think about the issues raised by this story? Email us on fa.letters@ft.com to let us know.
