Thoresen rules himself out of Standard Life running with Aegon pledge

Published on Saturday 13 June 2009 14:50

OTTO Thoresen, the chief executive of insurance giant Aegon UK, has ruled himself out of the search to succeed Sandy Crombie at Standard Life. Thoresen said he was committed to Netherlands-owned Aegon, which employs 3,000 staff in Edinburgh.

In an interview with Scotland on Sunday, Thoresen initially laughed off suggestions that he could be among the candidates for one of the most highly prized jobs in the financial services sector.

Crombie announced shortly after his 60th birthday in February that he would be retiring but would stay on until a successor was found. He will take up a non-executive directorship at Royal Bank of Scotland.

Thoresen referred to the speculation about Crombie's successor as a story that had been "running for far too long" and said his own future was with Aegon. Asked if he was ruling himself out of the running, he replied: "Yes. I am very clear that my commitment is to Aegon UK."

Scottish Equitable, which he joined in 1978, was acquired by Aegon in 1994 when Thoresen returned to the company.

He assumed his current role four years ago and has pushed the company from top ten to top three in the life and pensions sector.

In his interview he reiterated the need to educate and inform the public about financial services and accepted that the industry had to rethink the way it dealt with the public.

Thoresen led a year-long review of independent financial advice on behalf of the Treasury and a trial offering money guidance is under way in England.

Thoresen said he was particularly concerned about the lack of engagement with young people who were not following earlier generations in regarding insurance as part of the culture of planning for the future. But he hopes that the credit crisis may at least change people's attitudes towards their personal finances and that they will learn to balance their savings and spending.