The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Business chief steps down from front line
Martin Gilbert plans to spend more time on golf course after announcing SLA departure
North-east entrepreneur Martin Gilbert said last night he was looking forward to more golfing, fishing and skiing after he retires from the front line of business next year.
But the 64-year-old aims to keep involved in companies he finds “interesting” after he steps down from the board of Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) in May and finally severs ties with the financial services giant at the end of September 30 2020.
The co-founder and former chief executive of Aberdeen Asset Management (AAM) became co-CEO of SLA following the £3.8 billion takeover of AAM by Edinburgh-based Standard Life in 2017.
He shared the top job at SLA with Keith Skeoch until earlier this year, when he moved into the role of vice-chairman.
Mr Gilbert is also a senior independent director of UK–Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company Glencore and chairman of the Prudential Regulation Authority’s practitioner panel.
He is a former deputy
chairman of Sky and has recently been linked with the chairmanship at digital bank Revolut.
“The first thing would be to get on the board,” he said yesterday after revealing talks about his involvement at London-based Revolut were ongoing.
“I would like to be able to help such a great growth company.”
The Aberdeen-based businessman – also a former chairman at transport giant FirstGroup – said he had enjoyed being part of other companies’ growth stories over the years, and was open to taking up more opportunities.
“I’ve still got a bit of life in me,” he said as he looked to life beyond SLA.
He said there would be “enormous emotion” when he leaves the company after his long career in financial services.
The corporate heavyweight decided it was time to go when he realised, before his change of role earlier this year, he was the FTSE 100’s longest-serving and second oldest CEO.
“That really shook me up,” he said, adding: “I realised life was passing me by, and I wanted to get off the treadmill and spend more time doing the things I enjoy, like skiing.”
Mr Gilbert will also have more time to devote to family interests in and around Aberdeen, where he lives with his wife, Fiona, in Rubislaw Den.
His family has Maryculter House Hotel in Lower Deeside in its private investment portfolio, while the Gilberts also own fishing beats on the River Dee.
It is 36 years since Mr Gilbert, who studied accountancy and law at Aberdeen University, and trained as a chartered accountant with Deloitte, teamed up with other investors to buy the Aberdeen asset manager – Brander & Cruikshank – which became AAM.
AAM grew rapidly throughout the 1990s, setting up offices in Asia. But in 2003 it nearly went bust amid an industry-wide scandal over split capital investment trusts which left tens of thousands of investors millions of pounds out of pocket.