Financial Services

UPDATE 1-Barclays picks Rothschild veteran Nigel Higgins as next chairman – Sky News


FILE PHOTO: Barclays’ logo is seen on top of one of its branches in Madrid, Spain in this March 22, 2016 photo. REUTERS/Sergio Perez/File Photo

(Reuters) – Barclays Plc (BARC.L) said on Thursday that Nigel Higgins, the deputy chairman of Rothschild & Co (ROTH.PA), has been appointed to succeed John McFarlane as the company’s chairman.

John McFarlane will retire on May 2 2019 after the Barclays AGM, the company said in an emailed statement. Higgins will join the Barclays Board as a Non-Executive Director on March 1, 2019 and take over as chairman in May.

“In Nigel Higgins we have found an ideal candidate. He is a hugely respected banker, a strategic thinker, someone with extensive international experience, and he has a strong positive leadership style. These are all great qualities that he will bring to the role,” said Crawford Gillies, who led the process to appoint a successor to McFarlane.

Higgins said, “succeeding John McFarlane, who has done such a sterling job during a period of great change at Barclays, is a huge honor…. I am totally committed to helping Barclays and its people continue to develop and progress.”

Barclays has faced uncertainty over its leadership, mainly due to regulatory scrutiny of chief executive Jes Staley’s treatment of a whistleblower and concerns among some investors about its investment bank-focused strategy.

Barclays is also under pressure from activist investor Edward Bramson, a turnaround expert who has taken a 5 percent holding in the bank.

Activist fund Sherborne Investors (SIGC.L), which has a 5.4 percent stake in the bank, was in talks with the lender earlier this year about replacing McFarlane as part of a plan to overhaul the British bank.

Barclays said in its statement Higgins has extensive experience of banking and financial services, gained through a 36-year career at Rothschild.

It added he had a strong track record as a strategic adviser to multiple major corporations and governments, a wealth of experience in building teams and culture on an international scale, and in growing businesses.

Reporting by Ishita Chigilli Palli and Ismail Shakli in Bengaluru; editing by David Evans and Alexandra Hudson



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