The Prudential today announced it was hiring its first woman chairman, Labour peer Shriti Vadera.
Baroness Vadera, currently chairman of Santander UK and senior non-executive director at BHP Billiton, was on the shortlist to replace Mark Carney as governor of the Bank of England but lost out to Andrew Bailey.
She replaces Pru chairman Paul Manduca, who is leaving due to governance rules stating directors must not remain on a board for more than nine years.
Under Manduca’s chairmanship, the company hived off its UK division into a separate FTSE-100 company called M&G. It now consists of the far bigger, Asia-led overseas operations.
Vadera, a former UBS banker and minister under New Labour, will step down from BHP and Santander. She joins the Pru board in May and takes over the chairmanship next January.
