Hugh Little to leave Aberdeen Asset Management

One of Aberdeen Asset Management’s longest-serving employees, head of acquisitions Hugh Little, is to retire from the fund manager at the end of this month.

Hugh Little leaves AAM after 28 years with the company. Picture: Contributed

Little, who sits on the board of the recently-floated Drum Income Plus real estate investment trust, said he plans to spend some time on the golf course and on his non-executive roles.

When he joined Aberdeen as its ninth employee in 1987, working alongside chief executive and co-founder Martin Gilbert on mergers and acquisitions, the firm had less than £100 million of assets under management. That figure now stands at more than £330 billion.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have worked with some incredibly talented people at Aberdeen over these 28 years, not least of whom Martin himself, and I have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to have been part of its fantastic growth story,” Little said yesterday. He added: “Whilst I look forward to spending some time on the golf course and more immediately to my daughter Jenni’s wedding in July, I hope also to share some of my experience with other businesses in a non-executive capacity.”

Little, who is also a governor and visiting professor at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, moved into the fund manager’s private equity division on 1990 and led this part of the business for 16 years before reverting to his original role as head of acquisitions. Since then he has project managed a string of deals, including last year’s £606m acquisition of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership from Lloyds Banking Group. He will be succeeded by David Boyle, who has been with the firm since 2003.

Gilbert said: “Hugh has played a significant role in Aberdeen’s growth and success. Without his management skills, commitment and focus, many of the acquisitions which have helped us to grow would not have happened and Aberdeen would not be the financially strong diversified, global asset management company we are today.

“Hugh will be greatly missed and he leaves with our best wishes. We are fortunate though to have someone of David’s calibre to step into the role.”