Directorate Change

RNS Number : 9880U

Standard Chartered PLC

02 July 2009

 



2 July 2009

Standard Chartered PLC appoints John Peace as Chairman

The Board of Standard Chartered PLC ('Standard Chartered' or the 'Group') has appointed John Peace as Chairman with immediate effect.

John Peace joined the Board of Standard Chartered as Deputy Chairman in August 2007 and has been Acting Chairman since 14 January 2009, working closely with Group Chief Executive Peter Sands, the Board and the executive management team.

'I am honoured to become Chairman of Standard Chartered', Mr Peace said. 'This is one of the best jobs in banking. The Group is in excellent shape, as you can see from our recent trading update, and I look forward to continuing to work with our great management team and Board.'

Peter Sands, Group Chief Executive, added: 'John brings extensive experience as an international business leader and as a chairman. He has been a very active Board member and, both as Deputy and Acting Chairman, has given me great advice and support. We have an excellent working relationship and I am delighted that we can build on that in the future.'

John Peace will spend at least three days a week in his duties as non-executive Chairman of Standard Chartered, which will become his primary role. He will step down as Chairman of Experian plc, once a new Chairman is appointed, and remain as Chairman of Burberry Group plc.

This appointment comes after an extensive internal and external search process. John Peace has a strong financial services and retailing background through his directorship of Standard Chartered PLC, his other current chairmanships and, previously, as Chief Executive of GUS plc. He has exemplary governance credentials and has extensive international experience, including a thorough working knowledge of Asia.

This appointment has received the necessary regulatory approval.

By order of the Board

Annemarie Durbin

Group Company Secretary

-ENDS-

For further details please contact:

Investors

Stephen Atkinson

Head of Investor Relations

[phone]

[e-mail]

Ashia Razzaq

Head of Investor Relations, Asia Pacific

[phone]

[e-mail]

Media

Arijit De

Head of Media Relations 

[phone] 

[e-mail]

Notes to editors

John Peace 

John Peace, 60, was appointed as an independent Non-Executive Director and Deputy Chairman of Standard Chartered PLC on 1 August 2007. He was appointed Acting Chairman of the Group in January 2009, when Lord Davies stepped down from the Board.

John is also Chairman of Experian plc and Burberry Group plc. He will step down as Chairman of Experian once a new Chairman is appointed. 

John joined GUS, a major UK retail Group, in 1970 where he held senior IT positions within the retail and home shopping divisions. In 1980, he co-founded CCN, a trading company formed by GUS that marketed information services to retailers and other lending organisations. 

CCN went on to become one of Europe's largest information services businesses and, following the acquisition of other major information services in the US and Europe, it became Experian. John became Chief Executive in 1996. It is now a FTSE100 company that operates in 38 countries with clients in more than 65 countries and 41 per cent of its sales in the financial services sector.

John was appointed to the Board of GUS plc in 1997 and became Group Chief Executive in January 2000. During his six years in that role, the group concentrated on three major businesses: Home Retail Group, Experian and Burberry. He dramatically reshaped the group through disposals and acquisitions, including those of Argos and Homebase. Shareholder value more than trebled under his tenure. 

In 2002, John was appointed Chairman of Burberry in advance of its successful flotation. It has more than 400 directly-operated stores and is highly international, with more than 20 per cent of sales in Asia Pacific and 27 per cent in the Americas. 

He became Chairman of Experian in 2006 when GUS demerged its businesses.

John is also Chairman of the Board of Governors of Nottingham Trent University, Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Nottinghamshire, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Chairman of The Work Foundation. He attended Sandhurst Military Academy and is married with three daughters and lives in Nottinghamshire.

Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered PLC, listed on both London and Hong Kong stock exchanges, ranks among the top 25 companies in the FTSE-100 by market capitalisation. The London-headquartered Group has operated for over 150 years in some of the world's most dynamic markets, leading the way in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Its income and profits have more than doubled over the last five years primarily as a result of organic growth and supplemented by acquisitions. 

Standard Chartered aspires to be the best international bank for its customers across its markets. The Group derives more than 90 per cent of its operating income and profits from Asia, Africa and the Middle East, generated from its Wholesale and Consumer Banking businesses. The Group has over 1600 branches and outlets located in over 70 countries. The extraordinary growth of its markets and businesses creates exciting and challenging international career opportunities.

Leading by example to be the right partner for its stakeholders, the Group is committed to building a sustainable business over the long term and is trusted worldwide for upholding high standards of corporate governance, social responsibility, environmental protection and employee diversity. It employs more than 70,000 people, nearly half of whom are women. The Group's employees are of 125 nationalities, of which about 70 are represented in the senior management. 

For more information, please visit: www.standardchartered.com

 

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