By Chris Dorrell
Legal and General (L&G) has appointed Santander’s António Simões to be chief executive, who will succeed the departing Sir Nigel Wilson next year.
Simões has been Santander’s European regional head since 2020, leading the bank’s operations across the UK, Spain and Portugal. Before that Simões had been at HSBC for 13 years, where he had been chief executive of its UK and Europe business.
He will take up the post at the beginning of next year with Wilson remaining in post in the meantime to deliver a “comprehensive handover and a smooth transition”.
Chair of L&G Sir John Kingman said: “António brings a formidable leadership track record at the most senior level of financial services, working across complex, global organisations.
“In an excellent field, his energy, ambition and clarity of strategic thinking stood out, alongside his strong belief in the positive role that business should play in society,” Kingman continued.
Simões said “This is a critical time for our industry, clients and customers, with emerging technologies, changing societal dynamics and wider economic forces presenting new challenges and opportunities that require all of us to adapt and evolve.”
Wilson had been at the helm of L&G for over a decade, leading the business through an often difficult environment. He announced his departure in January this year.
