Jupiter has appointed veteran fund manager Nichola Pease as non-executive chairman as she relinquishes her board duties with rival Schroders after seven years.
Pease will take up the role in March 2020, replacing Liz Airey who has been Jupiter chairman since September 2014 and a non-executive director since May 2010.
Pease has more than 30 years’ financial services experience, including as chief executive and then deputy chairman of JO Hambro Capital Management from 1998 until 2008. She left the firm in 2011 following its acquisition by BT Investment Management.
She is married to renowned hedge fund manager Crispin Odey and the pair are estimated to be worth £775m, according to the most recent Sunday Times Rich List. She is also the sister of Crux Asset Management fund manager Richard Pease.
Last week Jeremy Corbyn singled out Odey in his first speech of the election campaign, which pitched the “establishment elite” against the “British people”.
Steps down from Schroders board
A stock market announcement on Wednesday said Pease has stepped down from her role as a non-executive director of Jupiter rival Schroders with immediate effect. She had served on the Schroders board since September 2012. She was also chair of the remuneration committee and a member of the audit and risk committee and nomination committee.
Schroders has appointed Damon Buffini as chairman of the remuneration committee and Rhian Davies as a member of the committee, both with immediate effect. Deborah Waterhouse has been appointed to the audit and risk committee.
‘An outstanding successor’
Pease worked at Kleinwort Benson and then Citibank between 1983 and 1987 before joining Smith New Court in 1987 and becoming a member of the board. She was a non-executive director of Northern Rock from 1999 to 2007.
Jupiter senior independent director Jonathon Bond said: “I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Nichola. She is an outstanding successor to our outgoing chairman and brings significant relevant experience to the board. At a time when Jupiter is moving forward under new leadership and with a refreshed plan to grow the business, Nichola’s industry expertise will prove invaluable.
Pease added: “Jupiter is an exceptional firm with a high-quality team and an ambitious strategy to build the business over the next five years. I look forward to joining the board at a very exciting time for the business.”
