Two new directors for Prudential may mute calls for resignations

Published on Sunday 27 June 2010 21:37

PRUDENTIAL is planning to hire two directors in a move that could pave the way for the departure of chairman Harvey McGrath, reports said yesterday.

The insurer's board has come under mounting pressure following the group's decision to pull its takeover of AIG's Asian arm AIA, with some shareholders calling for its chief executive, Tidjane Thiam to go.

However, it is thought the plan to recruit two fresh non-executive directors may remove the immediate pressure for resignations and allow it to draw up an orderly succession plan.

Any senior figure appointed by the board may be seen as an unofficial chairman-elect who could take over from McGrath.

One of the new directors is expected to have a strong record in Asia, while the other is likely to be a more generalist business heavyweight.

Former City minister Lord Myners and Lord Davies, the former chairman of Standard Chartered, could be viewed as candidates for the roles.

The company's top team still appears to have the support of the majority of its shareholders after weathering the immediate storm over AIA.

Significantly, a meeting last week with Fidelity was described as "cordial" after speculation the fund manager would call for McGrath to resign.

Prudential was left with a 450 million bill following the collapse of its $35.5 billion (24bn) AIA takeover proposal.

The move would have been one of the biggest foreign takeovers ever attempted by a British company, had it gone ahead.