Brendan Nelson, chair of the audit committee at HSBC, is named interim group chairman

HSBC Holdings PLC announced on Friday that Brendan Nelson will be the interim group chairman after Mark Tucker retires from his role on September 30, following his retirement.

Tucker will also resign as a member of the board on that date.

The process of selecting the permanent HSBC Group Chair, led by Ann Godbehere (a senior independent director), is currently underway, the banking giant announced in a press release.

Godbehere said that "Brendan’s extensive experience as Group Audit Chairman and on UK-listed board makes him ideal to assume this role on an interim basis, while the process is ongoing."

Nelson served previously as a non-executive independent director of several major UK listed companies, including oil giant BP & financial services firm NatWest.

HSBC announced on May 1, that Tucker will retire at the end of this year. During his nearly eight-year tenure as the chairman of Europe's biggest bank, Tucker oversaw a downsizing of significant proportions and guided the group during the rising Sino-U.S. conflict.

(source: Reuters)