M&G CEO John Foley to retire

John Foley, group chief executive of M&G is planning to retire, the company said in a stock exchange announcement this morning (27 April).

Foley (pictured) was appointed CEO in 2015, having joined Prudential plc in 2000 as deputy group treasurer. During his time as CEO he executed the merger of M&G Investments and Prudential UK in 2017 and the subsequent demerger of the group from Prudential plc in 2019.

The board said it will now "initiate a process to appoint a new chief executive" but Foley will continue to serve until the successor is in place.

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Foley said he was "exceptionally proud of what M&G has achieved since becoming an independent listed company three years ago".

"We have delivered our demerger commitments despite extraordinary macro challenges, and are well-placed to leverage M&G's scale and expertise to build an international leader in savings and investments," he commented.

He added the results demonstrated the company had "reached an inflection point" and it was a "good time to begin the search".

On 8 March the company announced a £500m buyback programme in its annual results hitting its demerger targets ahead of schedule, and reported an increase in assets under management and administration (AUMA).

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Edward Braham, chair of the company and the person who will lead the search for the new CEO, thanked Foley for his "outstanding contribution".

The company said Folely will continue to be eligible for short-term incentive awards until his retirement, but will not receive a long-term incentive award for 2023 and will not receive any payments for loss of office "other than a capped contribution towards legal fees".

It added that his shareholding will be subject to share ownership guidelines for two years after his employment.