Standard Life appoints Lloyd’s of London’s Luke Savage as CFO

STANDARD LIFE has recruited Lloyd’s of London finance director Luke Savage as its new chief financial officer and an executive director.

Savage, who spent ten years as director of finance and operations at Lloyd’s, will leave the 326-year-old insurance market in the summer to join Standard Life as the replacement for Jackie Hunt, who left last year to take a CEO role at Prudential UK.

He will join the FTSE 100 financial services group on 18 August and earn up to £1.5m a year in salary and bonuses in addition to a long term incentive plan, Standard Life said.

One of Savage’s early challenges at his new employer will likely be predicated on the outcome of the Scottish referendum in September. The Edinburgh-based insurer has previously suggested that it would consider relocating its operations if the Scottish people vote to leave the union.

“He is joining the group at a time of significant opportunity with unprecedented change across the markets in which we operate,” said Standard Life chief executive David Nish. “We are trading strongly and have significant opportunities to grow further, including the acquisition of Ignis.”

Savage was responsible for implementing Solvency II, an EU Directive that harmonises insurance industry solvency requirements, across the Lloyd’s market and previously spent four years at Deutsche Bank as global CFO for the equities business and ten years with Morgan Stanley in various financial controller roles.

“We view this as an excellent appointment for Standard Life and will come as a real relief to its shareholders,” Eamonn Flanagan, an insurance industry analyst at Shore Capital Stockbrokers, told Reuters.

After Savage steps down, Lloyd’s will split his role into two separate functions, it said. Shirine Khoury-Haq will be joining Lloyd’s from Catlin as director of operations, while John Parry, currently head of finance at Lloyd’s, will step into the new role of director of finance on an interim basis until a permanent appointment is made.

Shares in Standard Life rose 0.4% to 394.54p in morning trading on the London Stock Exchange. For more share price information visit the Share Price Centre