Legal & General appoints António Simões as CEO

(Sharecast News) - Legal & General said on Thursday that it has appointed António Simões as chief executive officer. Simões - who succeeds Sir Nigel Wilson - joins from Banco Santander, where he has been regional head of Europe since September 2020. He leads Santander's businesses in the UK, Spain, Portugal and Poland, working across retail and commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth management and insurance.

Prior to joining Santander, Simões spent 13 years at HSBC, including as CEO of UK and Europe, and latterly CEO of Global Private Banking, based in London and Hong Kong. He is a former McKinsey & Company partner.

Simões will take up the post on 1 January 2024 and Wilson will stay on as CEO in the meantime, "continuing to focus on delivering the strategy of the group", L&G said.

Chair Sir John Kingham said: "The board is delighted to appoint António as group CEO designate. 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."