Alliancetrust loses director

A NON-EXECUTIVE director of Dundee’s Alliance Trust (AT) has resigned just four months after her appointment was ratified by shareholders, writes Graham Huband.

Consuelo Brooke stepped down with immediate effect yesterday as a result of undisclosed “personal reasons.”

Mrs Brooke wa s appointed to her role in November last year to replace the retiring Hugh Bolland and became member of the trust’s audit, remuneration and nomination committees.

She was welcomed to the trust by former chairman Lesley Knox who said Mrs Brooke’s extensive experience in investment management would help ensure the investment performance remained the main focus of the board.

Mrs Brooke came to Alliance following a long career started with SG Warburg’s investment department in 1969 and she stayed with the business — which later became Merrill Lynch Investment Managers — until her retirement from the post of managing director in 2001.

She later established her own firm, C Brooke Investment Partners Ltd, from which she retired a second time in 2010.

Her subsequent election to the Alliance board as a non-executive director was ratified by shareholders in a vote at the trust’s general meeting in April.

AT chairman Karin Forseke wished Mrs Brooke well for the future.

She said: “I would like to thank Mrs Brooke who has given us the benefit of her extensive fund management experience at an important stage in the development of our asset management business.”

Consuelo Brooke.