Sandy is now a Sir, and Standard Life search for successor goes on

Published on Tuesday 30 June 2009 21:36

ARISE Sir Sandy. The chief executive of Standard Life was yesterday formally made a knight by the Queen at Holyrood Palace.

Knighted in the New Year Honours for services to the insurance industry in Scotland, Crombie yesterday received the official insignia of the knights batchelor.

After the honour was bestowed on him by the Queen, Crombie, who has been at Standard Life for more than 40 years, acknowledged the support he has had from his colleagues at the insurer.

He said: "It's great recognition, not just for me but for the people I work with.

"No-one ever achieves great things alone and the people who work with me deserve the recognition that comes with this medal today."

But although the grey of his morning suit matched the thick haar outside the Queen's Gallery, Crombie is not ready to fade away.

He is retiring as chief executive but he has not gone yet. Standard Life chairman Gerry Grimstone is currently engaged in finding his sucessor.

Crombie's formal acceptance of his knighthood brings that search into focus.

Standard Life has been at pains to stress that is is scouring the world for a new chief executive as Crombie moves on to become senior non-executive at Royal Bank of Scotland.

Many observers expect the post will be filled by an internal candidate.

Keith Skeoch, the chief executive of Standard Life Investments, and David Nish, the finance director, are the two frontrunners. Nish is thought to be the favourite to take over the group chief executive role.

The company refuses to say when a decision will be taken. But Crombie's formal acceptance of his honour will increase the pressure on the insurer to move quickly to fill the vacancy.