Hargreaves Lansdown senior independent director Shirley Garrood is to relinquish her seat on the board to chair Royal London’s funds business.
Garrood will be stepping down from her post at the platform giant at the end of a seven-year term by the end of 2020, according to an RNS statement issued by Hargreaves.
From there she will join Royal London as a non-executive director and is expected to become the chair of Royal London Asset Management and its risk committee in 2021, subject to regulatory approval.
Hargreaves said Roger Perkin would serve as interim senior independent director in Garrood’s stead as it searches for her replacement. The FTSE 100 platform group said it would aim to ensure the composition of the board remains “appropriate” in terms of size, independence and diversity.
Garrood is one of four women on Hargreaves’ 10-person board, alongside chair and non-executive director Deanna Oppenheimer (pictured) and independent non-executive directors Andrea Blance and Moni Mannings. She leaves shortly after funds industry vet Adrian Collins was appointed to the board by Hargreaves co-founder Peter Hargreaves.
Oppenheimer thanked Garrood for her “enormous contribution to the board” during her tenure. “She leaves with our thanks and best wishes for the future.”
Royal London confirmed Garrood’s appointment not long after the RNS, adding she would also become a member of the nominations and governance committee as well as RLAM’s risk committee.
Chairman Kevin Parry said Garrood’s combination of “wider financial services and asset management experience will be a real asset to us”.
Prior to joining Hargreaves in October 2013, Garrood served as the CFO and COO at Henderson Group, now Janus Henderson, and was an executive director at Morley Fund Management, which was bought by Aviva. During her career she has held prominent board appointments at the BBC, Deloitte and Esure.
Commenting on her latest appointment Garrood said: “I am delighted to be joining the boards of Royal London and Royal London Asset Management allowing me to make use of my cross-industry expertise. As a mutual Royal London is in an enviable position and I look forward to being part of the next stage of its growth.”
