Abrdn launches succession plan as chief executive Stephen Bird steps down

Asset manager Abrdn is on the hunt for a new leader after it announced today that Stephen Bird will be stepping down as chief executive.

“Following the significant strategic repositioning of the company, the Board and Group CEO, Stephen Bird, have together agreed that it is the right time for Stephen to hand over the reins to the team he has assembled over the last four years to drive the business forward,” the company said in a statement today.

Jason Windsor, who is currently the chief financial officer, has been appointed as the interim chief while the formal search process is ongoing. The company added that it will consider external candidates for the top job.

To “ensure a smooth handover”, the firm said that Bird will work with Windsor until June 30, which will mark the four-year anniversary of his appointment as CEO.

Stephen Bird, said: “I am immensely proud of the work we have done together to simplify Abrdn and position the company for sustainable growth.

“Abrdn’s position in the UK wealth market has been transformed through the acquisition of interactive investor together with investment in our Adviser business; these are essential moves as the ongoing democratisation of savings responsibilities reinforces the demand for simple and cost-effective platform solutions to support individuals as they address their long-term financial needs.”

He added: “It has been a privilege to lead Abrdn through an intensely challenging time in our industry and I am grateful to my colleagues for their support and commitment to serving our clients with distinction.

“I leave the company well positioned, having embedded greater diversification of revenues, retained a strong capital position and, most importantly, developed a refreshed leadership team which is ready and eager to take on the challenge of realising Abrdn’s full potential.”

Sir Douglas Flint, Abrdn’s chairman, thanked Bird for his four years at the helm and for steering the firm through the pandemic.

“He joined us as the pandemic took hold and, despite the restrictions this imposed, spearheaded a fundamental reshaping of the company, leading from the front to create a company that can be competitive in a fast-evolving sector,” Flint said.

The news of Bird’s departure comes after Abrdn’s chief investment officer, Peter Branner, complained that the company is facing “corporate bullying” by the media due to its name.

He said that the British press mocking the company’s disemvowelled name was taking it a step too far.

At the time the company’s name was changed, chief executive Stephen Bird said the new name would “create unity across the business”, uniting the various acquisitions within the firm.

Earlier in the year, Abrdn announced that Bird would receive a near £800,00 bonus.

Abrdn announced last month that its assets under management in the first quarter ticked up three per cent £507.7bn and total net inflows rose by £0.8bn.

The firm said today that trading and net flows in the second quarter “have shown similar trends” to the first quarter so far. It will announce its first half-year results on August 6.