City veteran tries insurance
INVESTMENT banker turned industry leader John Nelson is to fill the large shoes left by Lloyd’s chairman Lord Peter Levene from October.
A City grandee whose finance career started at Kleinwort Benson and continued at Lazard, where he ran its corporate finance division for 13 years, Nelson is now best known for his leadership of bellwether UK companies.
He retired from finance in 2002 after three years as chairman of Credit Suisse First Boston Europe, saying he did not want to miss the opportunity to do other things in business. He has since served as a non-executive director at BT, and is now chairman of real estate giant Hammerson and deputy chair of DIY specialist Kingfisher.
Nelson has remained a voice in the City, advising European buyout house Charterhouse, and has held non-executive roles at JP Morgan Cazenove and Woolwich in the past.
While he has not worked in insurance before, nor had Levene upon his arrival. Levene describes Nelson as “an experienced businessman with a successful record”.
Levene, who joined Lloyd’s nine years ago, is its longest-serving chairman in 125 years. He is also chairman of new bank NBNK.