Aviva boss Mark Wilson is picked by Blackrock as a non-executive
Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, today appointed Aviva chief executive Mark Wilson as a non-executive.
The New Zealander will take a seat on the board of the US fund management behemoth with immediate effect.
Wilson took over at Aviva in 2013 moving from insurance giant AIA, rebuilding the Asian arm of AIG in the wake of the financial crisis. He has overseen the revitalisation of Aviva’s fortunes, almost doubling the insurer’s market cap.
Part of Aviva’s growth has been driven by Wilson’s divisive decision to buy Friends Life in 2015 – the largest UK insurance deal for over a decade.
Read more: Aviva shares drop despite profit rise and upgraded growth targets
Blackrock had more than $6.3bn (£4.5bn) under management at the end of December. In January, its chief executive Larry Fink sparked controversy by saying US President Donald Trump has been “good for the global economy so far”.
“I may disagree with many things he’s said,” Fink said. “But unquestionably the tax reform is going to add at least nine-tenths of GDP to the US economy.”
“Some of the deregulation that he’s done has created less burden on companies, and companies have been able to do more things,” he added. “But at the same time a year ago we never imagined a Europe to be so politically unified with President Macron winning and so we have a much stronger Europe than everyone forecasted a year ago today.”
Read more: Aviva’s boss wins over City sceptics to Friends Life deal