Intrigue at the Prudential, which on Thursday announced chief executive Mark Tucker would be standing down in September. He will be replaced by hot shot finance director Tidjane Thiam.
To be sure, everything looks amicable.
Mark has made an outstanding contribution and has led the transformation of Prudential into the strongest, and best focused, company in the sector with a diversified international presence in advantaged regions and markets.
That’s chairman Harvey McGrath.
And here’s Tucker.
I believe that I have delivered on what I set out to do and that the time is now right to hand over to a successor to continue the work.
“I’m taking a little time out to consider my options,” Tucker said today on a conference call. “I think there’s at least one more big job in me.
Certainly, Tucker has not done a bad job at Pru, unlike his predecessor Jonathan Bloomer, and he has been at the helm for four and half years, which is around average for a FTSE 100 chief executive.
But FT Alphaville can’t help wondering if his sudden decision to go reflects Pru’s decision not to bid for AIG’s Asian assets.
This could have been a transformational deal for the Pru. Sure, financing the deal might have been tricky, but it would have given the Pru a truly commanding position in the fast growing markets of the east.
Whatever, the reason, Tucker, once the finance director at HBOS, has certainly signed off on a high. This morning’s annual results have come in above expectations - net income of £2.9bn versus a consensus range of £2.3bn-£2.8bn - and it has also increased the full dividend by 5%.
Of course, that has left some analysts wondering exactly how the Pru has managed to beat forecasts, given what markets have done in the past year. More clarity should come with the analysts meeting later on Thursday morning.
Shares in the Pru rose 21.7p to 272.5p in early trade.
As for the appointment of Thiam it is sure to put a few noses out of joint at the Pru. There were several other internal contenders for the top job including Nick Prettejohn, head of the UK life business, and Michael McLintock, who runs M&G, the fund management arm.
But as Harvey McGrath made clear in an interview with the FT on Thursday, the Pru were determined not to lose Thiam, a McKinsey man and the Ivory Coast’s former development minister. (See link below).
“I would hate to lose Tidjane,” Mr McGrath says. “I think the odds of that happening are fairly low.”
Indeed!
Perhaps this is real reason behind Tucker’s departure.
Related link:
Conflict experience pays off for the Pru - FT.com
