Strategy & Operations » Leadership & Management » On the move – Ellis retirement is Tucker’s luck

On the move - Ellis retirement is Tucker's luck

HBOS group finance director Mike Ellis is set to retire at the end of the year after 17 years of service.

Ellis joined Halifax in 1987 as treasurer and held a number of senior roles in treasury, retail and group before playing a ‘key role’ in Halifax’s merger with Leeds Permanent Building Society. He was also pivotal in the group’s flotation and merger with Bank of Scotland in 2001, at which point he became group FD. HBOS chief executive James Crosby said: “Mike has been at the heart of all our achievements. We wish him well for the future.”

The FD role is passed onto Mark Tucker (left). He joins the HBOS board on 30 April and will work alongside Mike Ellis until October. Chartered accountant Tucker has extensive financial services experience, both in the UK and internationally. He previously served as an executive director at Prudential, and as its CEO in Asia.

Jarvis group finance director Robert Kendall has resigned after the rail construction company issued a profits warning. It has estimated a £5m loss from its accommodation services arm, against previous market expectations of a £5m profit. Kendall has been replaced by Alistair Rae, a former KPMG chartered accountant, who has also served at Deloitte & Touche, Cazenove and HSBC Investment Bank.

Thorntons has appointed former Cranswick FD and current chief executive Martin Davey as a non-executive director. Davey was named Entrepreneur of the Year in 2003 by the Financial Times, in recognition of his role in leading Cranswick.

Bruce Wright has joined the board of troubled bus manufacturer Mayflower as interim FD, after finance director David Donnelly, chief executive John Simpson and joint MD John Fleming stepped down. Chief restructuring officer Alan Jamieson takes on the role of chief executive.

Pensions and life assurance provider Aviva has appointed Russell Walls as a non-executive director. Walls is a former group finance director of BAA, and has served in the same role at Wellcome and Coats Viyella.

Alfredo Goyanes, the CFO designate of cash shell and former IT giant Baltimore Technologies, has joined the company as it prepares to enter the clean energy solutions market. This new direction includes several new board appointments, including new chief executive David Weaver and former National Grid finance director John Uttley as audit committee chairman.

The company also proposes to change its name ‘in due course’ to reflect its new business focus.

However it will hold an EGM on 6 May after its biggest shareholder, Acquisitor Shareholdings, rejected the new strategy and called for the board’s dismissal.

Goyanes is the former head of European utilities research at Lazard, and has held several positions in both management and as advisor on market strategy for investment banks and broking firms.

Baltimore’s former chief financial officer Denis Kelly stepped down at its AGM.

Former Misys finance director Ross Graham has joined vaccines producer Acambis as non-executive director and audit committee chairman.

David Rutherford has been promoted to group finance director of Victory Corporation. Rutherford was formerly finance director of its Virgin Cosmetics subsidiary. He has also held senior financial roles at The Body Shop and Life Technologies, and prior to this worked at KPMG.

MSB International has promoted group financial controller Ian Ketchin to group finance director. Ketchin gained a wide range of audit and advisory experience at Ernst & Young, where he qualified as a chartered accountant in 1990.

Scottish regional brewer Belhaven has restructured its board in order ‘to comply with best practice under the Combined Code’. It now comprises of two executive directors: chief executive Stuart Ross and finance director David Morrison, plus four non-executives including the chairman Chris Greig. Graeme Bissett has been appointed as chairman of Belhaven’s audit committee. Bissett served on the accounting standards committee of ICAS and was convenor of the institute’s technical liaison committee for six years, up to 2002.

3i chief executive Brian Larcombe is to retire in July after 30 years with the private investment firm. Larcombe served as its finance director when it was floated in 1994, before taking up the top role in 1997. “He has led the transformation of 3i from a largely UK-focused business to Europe’s leading venture capital company,” said chairman Baroness Hogg.

Waterford Wedgwood has appointed Paul D’Alton as CFO, following Richard Barnes’ departure after 10 years in the role. D’Alton previously served as chief financial officer and a member of the court of directors at the Bank of Ireland.

Andrew Walsh has resigned as CFO of communications services provider Redstone to “pursue other interests”. He steps down from the role in October 2004, and a replacement is yet to be confirmed.

Investment bank Durlacher has appointed David Liddell as its finance director, following the resignation of Robert Boardman.

Former BBC Broadcast FD Glyn Thomas has been appointed non-executive director at Reality Telecom.

Thomas has served as group treasurer or finance director at Rothmans International, Kingfisher, Reed Elsevier and Thomas Cook.

Judy Boynton has stepped down as Royal Dutch/Shell group chief financial officer, but will remain an employee of the troubled oil company. Boynton has joined chairman Philip Watts in leaving the group’s board, after the group restated oil reserves in January that saw it cut 3.9 billion barrels, or 20% from reserves, it claimed in US Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Royal Dutch/Shell has since restated oil reverses down by another half a billion barrels.

Boynton was one of the few female senior finance executives working in the FTSE-100. She began her career with US oil company Amoco, now part of BP, in 1978 and served there in a variety of finance roles until she joined Polaroid 20 years later. In 2001, she was appointed director of finance and CFO of Royal Dutch/Shell. Tim Morrison has been appointed as acting group CFO with immediate effect.

Share
Was this article helpful?

Leave a Reply

Subscribe to get your daily business insights