Henderson loses Pennant-Rae to Royal London
CITY grandee Rupert Pennant-Rea yesterday announced he was standing down as chairman of FTSE 250 money manager Henderson Group at the group’s next annual meeting.
Pennant-Rea, 64, will move to take up the chairmanship of financial services firm Royal London Group following his departure from Henderson in March next year. His successor has yet to be announced.
“The company has come a long way since it demerged from AMP and relisted, and has made two successful acquisitions in recent years. I am leaving the company and the board in good shape,” he said.
Pennant-Rea, a former editor of The Economist newspaper, is one of the City’s best known names, having risen to become deputy governor of the Bank of England from 1993 to 1995. He had been at Henderson since 2004.
He is currently chairman of The Economist Group, and also holds directorships at Go-Ahead Group, Gold Fields Limited and Hochschild Mining.
Pennant-Rea oversaw Henderson’s takeover of two of fund management’s biggest names, New Star Asset Management in 2009 and Gartmore in 2010.
Henderson yesterday also revealed plans to switch its tax residency back to the UK from the Republic of Ireland.
The firm is also ditching two executive directors, David Jacob and James Darkins, as part of a downsizing of its board.