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Stephen Bird has stepped down as chief executive of Abrdn after a four-year tenure set to be remembered for a rebranding that failed to restore the fortunes of the UK asset manager.
Abrdn said on Friday that, “following the significant strategic repositioning of the company”, it was the right time for Bird to step aside.
Bird, who joined promising to turn around the group after a successful career at Citigroup, will stay on at the company until the end of June to help with a transition.
Chief financial officer Jason Windsor, who joined the company in October, has been appointed interim chief executive while the board searches for a permanent successor.
Bird’s departure follows a turbulent period for the company, the highest-profile of a number of UK asset managers that have faced pressure to lower fees to compete with bigger rivals.
Since Bird took the reins, Abrdn has twice been ejected from the FTSE 100 and the group’s shares have tumbled by roughly 30 per cent over the period. He oversaw a much-ridiculed rebranding of the business.
Abrdn said the board and Bird had “together agreed that it is the right time” for new leadership.
Windsor joined Abrdn after little more than a year as chief financial officer of UK housebuilder Persimmon.
Samuel Johar, chair of board advisory group Buchanan Harvey, said that Windsor had a strong chance of becoming Bird’s permanent successor.
“He has substantial financial services experience and Abrdn cannot afford a vacuum for too long,” said Johar, adding that the company could become a takeover target.
Shares in Abrdn were up just over 1 per cent in early trading on Friday.
During his tenure, Bird attempted to diversify Abrdn by expanding its wealth management business and by selling more investments directly to consumers. In 2021, it bought Interactive Investor, the UK’s second-largest consumer investment site by assets.
He also restructured underperforming parts of the business, including selling off Abrdn’s £7.5bn private equity arm and offloading its 50 per cent stake in a joint venture with the bank Virgin Money.
Sir Douglas Flint, Abrdn chair, said that Bird “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”.
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
