Former Standard Life boss Nish to join Vodafone

Mobile phone giant Vodafone today said that former Standard Life chief executive David Nish is to join its board.

David Nish, the ex-Standard Life boss, is joining Vodafone

Nish, who spent six years as the Edinburgh-based life and pensions group’s boss before stepping down last month, will take up his non-executive position at Vodafone at the start of January.

The former ScottishPower finance director is also a non-executive director at the government-backed UK Green Investment Bank, which is based in Edinburgh.

He has been a non-executive Director of Northern Foods, Thus, HDFC Life, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and was deputy chairman of the Association of British Insurers. He was also formerly a member of the financial services advisory board of the Scottish Government.

Vodafone chairman Gerard Kleisterlee said: “David is a highly experienced business leader who helped build Standard Life into one of the UK’s largest asset managers, delivering significant returns to shareholders.

“His financial expertise and capital market skills will be a complementary addition to the board and I am delighted to welcome him to Vodafone.”

Vodafone yesterday said that talks with cable firm Liberty Global over a potential asset swap had been ­terminated.

In June, the telecoms group had entered discussions with Liberty regarding “a possible exchange of selected assets between the two companies”.