HSBC Holdings Plc’s Chairman Mark Tucker will leave Europe’s largest lender in September to take on a non-executive chairman role at AIA Group Ltd., marking his return to the Hong Kong-based insurer.
Tucker, 67, will step down after almost eight years on Sept. 30, according to an HSBC statement. The bank, which announced last month that Tucker intended to retire before the end of the year, said it will provide further updates on the ongoing search for his replacement “in due course.”
Audit committee head Brendan Nelson will assume the role of interim chairman, pending regulatory approval.
AIA said that Tucker will take over on Oct. 1 from retiring Chairman Edmund Sze-Wing Tse, 87. He was also appointed as the chairman of the Nomination Committee and a member of the Remuneration Committee.
The insurer has been holding informal discussions with Tucker on a role for at least a year, according to a person familiar with the matter. Tucker is expected to make significant changes to the board in the months ahead, the person said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter.
An AIA spokesperson said the insurer doesn’t comment on speculation.
Tucker’s exit comes as HSBC Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery is in the midst of a restructuring to streamline the lender, which makes the bulk of of its profit in Hong Kong. Since taking the helm in September, the CEO has combined HSBC’s commercial and investment banking units, while making operations in the UK and Hong Kong standalone businesses.
“HSBC has been preparing for this transition for a while, so even if Tucker’s shoes aren’t easy to fill, the groundwork laid in recent years — particularly the progress on cost-cutting under Elhedery — suggests the bank is likely to stay its current strategic course,” said Michael Makdad, a senior analyst at Morningstar Inc.
Hands on
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HSBC went outside the firm for its chairman for the first time to lure Tucker in 2017, and he has a reputation for being a hands on chairman.
His time at HSBC has been marked by numerous changes on the board and in the executive suite. He ousted former CEO John Flint after just 18 months on the job. He then spent seven months scouting for a replacement, approaching at least three high-profile outsiders — former Citigroup Inc. bankers James Forese and Stephen Bird and ex-UniCredit SpA’s chief Jean Pierre Mustier before settling on CEO Noel Quinn, who also eventually left.
Under Tucker’s watch, the bank had to navigate an increasingly fractious China-US relationship, deal with controversy in Hong Kong as well as a fend off pressure from a major Chinese shareholder.
Nelson, 75, was appointed to HSBC’s board in September 2023, according to his profile on the bank’s website. He spent more than 25 years at KPMG and previously served on the boards of BP Plc and NatWest Group Plc.
AIA held a town hall on Friday morning to address employees on the new leadership change, where senior executives including CEO Lee Yuan Siong, Jacky Chan and Mitchell New attended.
Tucker, a Briton, made his mark as head of Prudential’s Asian operations, expanding to 12 markets from three, helping make it one of the top two international life insurers in the region. He resigned in 2003 after failing to get a bigger job and moved to mortgage lender HBOS Plc as finance director. Two years later, he returned to Prudential — this time as CEO. He took over AIA in 2010, where he stayed before being named HSBC chairman.
“I wish to again reiterate our thanks to Mark for his leadership and stewardship of the Bank over the past eight years,” said senior independent director Ann Godbehere in a statement. “We wish him well in his new role at AIA.”
