The banking giant has named Mark Tucker to succeed Douglas Flint while Stuart Gulliver will retire from his post as group CEO.
Mark Tucker, group chairman designate, HSBC
In a break with tradition, HSBC Holdings has hired outside of the bank for a top post, appointing Mark Tucker, the executive director, group chief executive and president of Hong Kong-based insurance provider AIA Group Ltd. (AIA), to become group chairman and a director on the bank’s board.
The news from the global banking giant came via an announcement from HSBC on Sunday, March 12, to the stock exchanges that list the bank. The announcement also signifies that current Group CEO Stuart Gulliver will be stepping down to retire.
Tucker, who will succeed Douglas Flint as group chairman, will assume the position starting September 1, 2017, officials say. He will also take over as non-executive group chairman, starting October 1.
At AIA Group Tucker will be replaced by Ng Keng Hooi, AIA regional chief executive, who has been appointed group chief executive and president designate with immediate effect, according to AIA officials. He will succeed Tucker on September 1, 2017.
The HSBC directors have determined that Tucker will be independent, and will have to step down from the boards of AIA and Goldman Sachs, officials say.
“In making their determination, the directors concluded that there are no other relationships or circumstances which are likely to affect his judgement and that any relationships or circumstances which could appear to do so are not considered to be material,” according to the HSBC board.
One of Tucker’s first tasks as the incoming group chairman will be to lead “the process of identifying a successor to the current group CEO [Gulliver],” bank officials say. “This process is expected to conclude during 2018 in order to meet Stuart Gulliver’s expressed desire to retire in that timeframe.”
Tucker, who is 59, will receive an annual fee of £1,500,000 ($1.83 million), officials add. “In addition, he will receive standard benefits for the role and a
Douglas Flint, group chairman
one-time relocation benefit of £300,000 ($366,818) paid after appointment to cover his relocation from Hong Kong to London,” HSBC officials say. The Group Remuneration Committee, composed of independent non-executive directors, have set the remuneration for Tucker’s role based upon “his individual experience, the duties, time commitment and contribution.”
Tucker will not be eligible to receive any pension or cash in lieu of pension allowance or participate in any discretionary variable compensation plan or long term incentive plan, officials say.
HSBC officials say Tucker’s appointment will be subject to final regulatory approval and will be for an initial term of three years and “subject to a three months’ notice period on either side.” The board anticipates a time commitment of “not less than four days per week although this may be greater at the outset and at times of heightened corporate activity. The appointment will be subject to his election and subsequent annual re-election by HSBC Holdings plc shareholders,” officials add.
The HSBC board acknowledges in a statement that “the dedicated service” of Flint at HSBC, includes leading HSBC through “the turbulent times of the financial crisis and its aftermath. As an industry leader, he has played a key role in contributing to the development of the post-crisis regulatory framework.” Flint served as group finance director and group chairman at HSBC for nearly 22 years.
Stuart Gulliver, group CEO, HSBC
At AIA, Tucker, who joined the company in July 2010, led a successful IPO for the company in October 2010, which helped the company become a major independent, publicly-listed pan-Asian life insurance group, officials say.
HSBC senior independent director Rachel Lomax and Sam Laidlaw, chairman of the nomination committee, led the appointment process. Lomax says that Tucker “has a long track record of successful leadership of complex financial services businesses in both Asia and the U.K.” In addition, he has served in non-executive roles at the Bank of England and Goldman Sachs, and has “extensive experience and understanding of the regulatory frameworks.”
Before joining AIA, Tucker worked at Prudential plc, and he was the founder and chief executive of Prudential Corporation Asia Ltd. from 1994 to 2003, officials say. He was on the board of Prudential plc for a decade, serving as its group chief executive from 2005 to 2009.
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