Mark Tucker, former chairman of HSBC, joins Asia insurer AIA
Mark Tucker, HSBC’s highly-regarded Chairman, will leave the bank and take up a new position as chairman of AIA Group. He was previously CEO of the pan-Asian insurer where he served.
HSBC announced that Brendan Nelson, a KPMG former partner and member of its board who chairs the audit committee for the group, will become interim chairman on October 1. On May 1, the bank announced that Tucker would leave before the end the year. However, the statement released on Friday stated that he will depart on September 30, according to the bank.
Tucker, former chief executive officer and president of AIA in Hong Kong from 2010 until 2017, before joining HSBC as chairman in September 2017, replaces Edmund Sze-Wing Tse.
Tucker was responsible for a major revamp at London's HSBC. During this time, the bank reduced its operations in Western countries such as the United States of America, Canada and France as part a broader pivot to Asia.
Tucker played a key role in HSBC's geopolitical navigation as the relationship between Britain, United States, and China deteriorated under his leadership.
In 2023, HSBC's biggest shareholder at the time, China Ping An Insurance, pushed for a spin-off of its Asian business. HSBC shareholders voted against the plan at their annual meeting in May.
Tucker's tenure as chair was approaching the maximum nine-year limit recommended by Britain's Corporate Governance Code.
Ann Godbehere, senior independent director at HSBC, said that the process of selecting a permanent chairperson was in progress. Tucker will act as a strategist to HSBC's CEO Georges Elhedery, and the board during the period of the recruitment process.
Godbehere stated that Nelson was ideally suited to take on the interim role due to his extensive experience as Group Audit Chairman and on UK-listed board.
He was previously an independent nonexecutive Director at several UK listed companies, including oil giant BP.
Sources familiar with HSBC's plans said that the bank will likely look to its current board for a successor to Tucker. Sources said that former Citigroup president Jamie Forese is one of the top candidates. Reporting by Scott Murdoch, Sydney; Rishav Chaterjee, Bengaluru. Editing by Rashmi Freed and Sherry Jacob Phillips.
(source: Reuters)
