New chair of board set for Virgin Money
Virgin Money is set to become t he sole FTSE 350 company with two women at the head of the board after the challenger bank confirmed it was in talks to appoint Irene Do rn er as chairwoman.
The bank said yesterday that it is in “advanced discussions” with Dorner, who ran HSBC’S American business arm f or three years until 2014, as a replacement for Glen Moreno, who is stepping down.
“Following recent press speculation, Virgin Money confirms that the company is in advanced discussions with respect to the appointment of Irene Dorner as independent non-executive director and chair- elect to the Virgin Money board of directors.
“Any appointment would be subject to regulator y approval,” the bank said.
The development comes a day after Jay ne-Anne Gadhia, Virgin Money’s chief executive, spoke to MPS of unchecked sexism in the City.
Gadhia said: “I remember a very senior woman being very upset one day telling me that she was expected to sleep with her boss. That sort of thing of course means there are issues for women progressing through financial services.”
If an appointment is confirmed, it is understood that G ad hi a and Do rn er would be the first female chairman and chief executive leadership team at a British bank and in the index of Britain’s biggest 350 publicly quoted businesses.
Dorner made headlines in 2012 when she apologised in front of a US Senate committee for HSBC’S involvement in serious misconduct issues in Mexico, Iran and Syria.