Close Brothers has appointed Preben Prebensen, 52, to be its chief executive, ending a search that started last September when Colin Keogh said he was stepping down. Prebensen will take up the role at the UK merchant bank on April 1, after leaving Catlin, the Lloyd’s of London speciality insurance group where he is currently chief investment officer. Although Prebensen’s last job as CEO of a public company – Wellington Underwriting – ended when he sold the business to Catlin, Close said he had not been hired with a mandate to sell the bank. Close’s future has been unclear since a bid approach failed to turn into a firm offer and profits fell sharply.

This entry was posted by Gwen Robinson on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 at 5:27 and is filed under Capital markets, People. Tagged with close brothers. Edit this entry.