Nordea to implement an orderly Board Chair succession – Stephen Hester proposed to take over from Torbjörn Magnusson during 2022
Nordea Bank Abp
Stock exchange release - Inside Information
13 January 2022 at 18.00 EET
The Shareholders’ Nomination Board of Nordea Bank Abp proposes Stephen Hester as member of the Board of Directors from the next Annual General Meeting of Shareholders and as new Chair of the Board from 1 October 2022 onwards. Torbjörn Magnusson is proposed to continue as Chair of the Board until 30 September 2022 and thereafter as ordinary member of the Board.
The Nomination Board has for the past year worked on Board member recruitment with particular focus on an orderly and successful Board Chair succession and is pleased to have found a strong candidate in Stephen Hester. Both Torbjörn Magnusson and Stephen Hester are proposed to be appointed as Board members from the Annual General Meeting on 24 March 2022 until the 2023 Annual General Meeting. Torbjörn Magnusson is proposed to continue as Chair of the Board until 30 September 2022. From 1 October 2022, Stephen Hester is proposed to take over the Chair role. The Board of Directors is expected to propose Stephen Hester as Vice Chair from 24 March 2022 until 30 September 2022 and Torbjörn Magnusson as Vice Chair from 1 October 2022 until the 2023 Annual General Meeting. Stephen Hester and Torbjörn Magnusson have both confirmed their availability to these appointments.
Chair of the Nomination Board, Ricard Wennerklint, says: “The Nomination Board has in its thorough work paid special attention to the orderly and successful transition of the Chair duties. We have further continued to emphasise the need for Board members’ expertise to meet the special demands of the banking industry as well as having strong ties and cultural sensitivity to the Nordic countries. Taking into account Stephen Hester’s extensive experience within banking and the insurance industry internationally as well as in the Nordics, we are very excited about the potential that he has to offer Nordea. In preparing its proposal, the Nomination Board has also consulted the CEO and President Frank Vang-Jensen who together with his team has led Nordea to a great business performance.”
“Frank Vang-Jensen and his team are doing an excellent job in continuously improving Nordea’s performance and its position as the leading bank in the Nordics. I’m committed to continue as the Chair of the Board for the first half of 2022 and to a good handover to Stephen Hester”, concludes Nordea’s Chair of the Board of Directors Torbjörn Magnusson.
Stephen Hester is a well-known and highly experienced international business leader. He has a unique depth and breadth of relevant experience for Nordea from a number of leadership positions within financial services internationally as well as in the Nordics. Hester spent 17 years as Chief Executive of three FTSE100 companies including Royal Bank of Scotland (2008-13) and RSA Insurance (2014-21), the owner of Trygg Hansa in Sweden and Codan in Denmark and Norway. He previously had 22 years of financial services experience at Credit Suisse and Abbey National. His leadership roles have encompassed retail, commercial and investment banking at a global scale as well as insurance and asset/wealth management. Hester (61) is a UK citizen, and having concluded his executive career earlier in 2021 is now focused on international Board work including as Chairman of easyJet plc, the European airline.
Stephen Hester comments: “It is a great privilege to be nominated to take up the position of Nordea Chair later in the year. The bank in my eyes is the best positioned to succeed of all Nordic banks and I’m fully supportive of the team and strategy led by Frank Vang-Jensen that is executing so well. Nordic financial services have been a part of my career in many different roles, especially since 2014. I love the region and feel excited about working as part of the Board to further develop this iconic Nordic company.”
Stephen Hester is independent from Nordea Bank Abp and its significant shareholders in accordance with the Finnish Corporate Governance Code. He does not currently own any shares in Nordea Bank Abp. The relevant authority approval for Stephen Hester is pending. Stephen Hester’s full CV is attached to this stock exchange release.
Current Vice Chair Kari Jordan has informed the Nomination Board that he is not available for re-election.
The Nomination Board will now continue its work as set out in its Charter with focus on diversity, gender distribution and proposing a suitable and competent Board of Directors with strong ties to the Nordic countries, and plans to communicate the rest of its proposals to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders sometime in early February 2022.
Shareholders’ Nomination Board contact:
Chair Ricard Wennerklint, +46 8 792 8022
For any other information relating to Nordea:
Group Communication, +358 10 416 8023 or press@nordea.com
The information provided in this stock exchange release is such that Nordea Bank Abp is required to disclose pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 18.00 EET on 13 January 2022.
Nordea is a leading Nordic universal bank. We are helping our customers realise their dreams and aspirations – and we have done that for 200 years. We want to make a real difference for our customers and the communities where we operate – by being a strong and personal financial partner. The Nordea share is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki, Nasdaq Copenhagen and Nasdaq Stockholm exchanges. Read more about us on nordea.com.