£6.5m golden goodbye for axed Aviva boss
AVIVA’S boss was ruthlessly axed by his chairman after the board lost faith in his leadership.
Mark Wilson was forced out in a move that shocked the insurance industry and the City.
The 52-year- old ( pictured right) leaves with a golden goodbye worth up to £6.5m having been chief executive since January 2013, earning £19.5m since taking the job.
‘Now is the time for a new leader,’ said chairman Sir Adrian Montague.
Wilson learned of his likely fate when Sir Adrian, 70, told him on Monday morning his job was on the line amid growing discontent from investors over the business’s direction.
Their frank discussion was followed by a lengthy board meeting at Aviva’s London headquarters where Wilson’s future was decided.
His departure was then announced to the stock exchange yesterday morning, sending Aviva’s shares up more than 2pc in early trading as investors welcomed the news. Shares eventually closed down 0.5pc, or 2.1p, at 463.1p.
Sir Adrian will take over as executive chairman until the insurance group appoints a replacement.
The City veteran, a former partner at ‘Magic Circle’ law firm Linklaters who succeeded John McFarlane as Aviva chairman in 2015, will be assisted by a committee of directors including the firm’s UK insurance chief Andy Briggs, overseas insurance head Maurice Tulloch and chief financial officer Thomas Stoddard. They are all seen as contenders for the top job.
Wilson’s departure follows grumbling by shareholders over a string of mishaps including a disastrous attempt to cancel special shares for less than they were worth on the open market.
He also attracted ire by taking a non-executive job on the board of US fund manager Blackrock, which some in the City felt was akin to working for one of Aviva’s competitors.
The shake-up at the insurer will set off a battle for one of the biggest jobs in the City, with senior business usiness leaders from around the world likely to vie with Wilson’s former lieutenants for the role. Sir Adrian acknowledged that Wilson ‘leaves the group in a far stronger state than when he joined’ following the disappointing reign of Andrew Moss, but he added that ‘there is much further to go’.
One top 20 shareholder said: ‘Wilson was at that point in his tenure where investors wanted to start seeing results.’
He stood down from his role immediately and is on paid gardening leave.
Wilson, who made his name steering ing Asian insurer AIA through the financial crisis, will be entitled to up to a year’s salary of £1m, plus pension payments and benefits.
He will also get a bonus for the first nine months of this year which could be worth as much as £1.5m. And he has shares coming his way under long-term bonus schemes worth £3.5m at today’s prices.
His departure follows concern over the direction of Aviva, and growing fears it was focused too much on expanding into new businesses rather than squeezing bigger profits out of its established operations.