Schroders names new finance chief and elevates investment boss to board

Schroders has named a new chief financial officer and elevated its chief investment officer to the board in the FTSE 100 asset manager’s latest leadership reshuffle.

Meagen Burnett, currently the firm’s chief operating officer, is due to take over the CFO role from Richard Oldfield, who is preparing to succeed outgoing chief executive Peter Harrison.

Her appointment, subject to regulatory approval, will formally take effect on 1 January 2025. Burnett is due to take over as CFO on an interim basis once Oldfield takes his new post on 8 November.

Meanwhile, Schroders announced that CIO Johanna Kyrklund would be given a seat on its board. It said the move “underscores the importance of investment expertise and performance to the business and our clients”.

As a board member, Kyrklund will take on new responsibilities for overseeing Schroders’ investment performance across all business lines.

Burnett joined Schroders last year after working at the likes of M&G, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and KPMG in various operational, audit, risk and IT control roles.

Kyrklund became CIO in 2019 after twelve years leading Schroders’ UK multi-asset investments business.

“My initial priority is to build on strong foundations, and focus on simplification, commercial discipline and flawless execution, which will accelerate our transition to growth,” Oldfield said on Thursday.

“We must remain relevant to clients whilst driving shareholder value through disciplined capital allocation and enterprise-wide collaboration.”

He added that Burnett and Kyrklund’s “combined experience and investment insights, as well as their financial and business acumen, will be invaluable”.

Harrison, who rejoined Schroders in 2013, plans to continue working with Oldfield until the end of the year.

Over the last 11 years, Harrison has overseen a period of expansion as Schroders more than doubled its assets under management to £774bn.

However, the firm has struggled to please the market in recent months. It failed to lift profit margins in its most recent half-year results, causing its share price to fall 14 per cent at the start of August.