Octopus Investments has appointed Benjamin Davis as CEO with immediate effect as Ruth Handcock (pictured) moves to a new role within the wider group.
The firm will provide further details of her new role in the coming months.
Davis joined the group in 2010 and is currently CEO of Octopus Investments’ real estate arm. Before arriving at the firm, he held roles at a number of venture capital firms in New Zealand.
He previously managed a range of the £12.8bn asset manager’s retail offerings alongside the £301m Octopus Apollo Venture Capital Trust.
Head of corporate development Edward Clough will step up to lead the real estate business.
Group CEO Simon Rogerson said: “Today’s announcement represents a hugely exciting moment for Octopus, for three reasons. Benjamin is a perfect example of the leaders we look for at Octopus. He is passionate about our mission and has already delivered several significant initiatives that have contributed to it. This is the latest milestone for Benjamin in what’s already been a brilliant, varied career at Octopus, and I have supreme confidence in his ability to lead Octopus Investments.
“It is a bittersweet moment, particularly for Octopus Investments customers and employees, to see Ruth move to another part of the group,” Rogerson continued. “Ruth has achieved an extraordinary amount during her four years as CEO and I can’t wait to see what I’m sure will be equally successful results in her new Octopus endeavour. Like Benjamin, Ruth epitomises what it means to be part of our group: someone who places just as much emphasis on how she behaves as a colleague and leader as what she does.
“Beyond the leadership changes, our ambition to invest £50 billion in line with our mission within the next seven years is one that everyone at Octopus is excited and motivated by, and no one more so than Benjamin. To reach such a bold target will require new, disruptive ideas, something Octopus has always thrived on.”
See also: Ruth Handcock: ‘As humans, we do not like talking about money’
