LONDON (Reuters) -Legal & General Chief Executive Nigel Wilson is retiring after a decade in the top job but will remain in the post until a successor takes the helm, the British insurer and pensions provider said on Monday.
Wilson was appointed CEO in 2012 after joining at group chief financial officer in 2009 and is currently one of the longest sitting CEOs in the FTSE 100 companies.
L&G shares were down 1.9%, greater than a 0.3% drop in the blue-chip FTSE 100 index.
Wilson has “been a strong and excellent CEO” overseeing growth and restructuring, JPMorgan analysts said in a note.
“We would expect an initial negative reaction to this announcement,” they added.
Wilson has agreed to continue as chief executive until a new CEO starts and will support a smooth transition following the appointment, the company said.
It said it would now begin looking internally and externally for a successor.
“It is envisaged that this process will take around a year,” a company statement said. “In the meantime, Sir Nigel will continue to focus on delivering the current strategy of the group, supported by the executive team.”
L&G also said that its guidance on full-year operating profit for last year remains unchanged and that it expects an operational surplus of 1.8 billion pounds ($2.23 billion).
($1 = 0.8071 pounds)
(Reporting by Huw Jones, Iain Withers and Tom SimsEditing by Ed Osmond, David Goodman and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
