He takes over from Paul Spencer who has been chairman since 2011. Spencer has taken up a new role as non-executive chairman of the Prudential Assurance Company.
Stewart is currently a non-executive director of Hermes having joined the board in April 2015. He previously spent nine years at Odey Asset Management, initially as chief executive and latterly as a non-executive director. He is chairman of IMM Associates, a non-executive director of the Caledonia Investment Trust, and sits on the investment committee of MacMillan Cancer Care.
“I look forward to taking up my new role, and working with Saker, the leadership team at Hermes and my fellow board members to build on the successes Hermes has already achieved,” said Stewart. “I see Hermes as an asset manager which is fully embedding responsible capitalism at the very heart of its business. This gives the firm a unique advantage, for which it is increasingly being recognized. ”
“Since joining the board as chair of the risk and compliance committee, David has quickly established himself as an insightful and trusted advisor,” said Hermes Investment Management chief executive Saker Nusseibeh. “His advice and counsel will be greatly beneficial as we take Hermes through the next stage of its growth.”
“Paul Spencer has been a tremendous chair and great support to all of us in the business. During his tenure, we have seen Hermes evolve into a fully-fledged asset manager, with third party assets increasing from £1.8bn to £9.2bn,” added Nusseibeh. On a personal level, Paul’s support and guidance has been invaluable. On behalf of myself and my colleagues I would like to thank him for his support over the last four years.”