Lord Stevenson to quit Pearson role but retain chairmanship of HBOS

LORD Dennis Stevenson is to stand down as chairman of Pearson, but he will retain the same post at Scottish banking giant HBOS for a second term, it was revealed yesterday.

Pearson, the FTSE 100 Financial Times-to-Penguin publisher - which will unveil full-year results today - said a committee, headed by senior independent director Terry Burns, had been tasked with finding a new chairman.

Lord Stevenson would retire after eight years in the post as soon as a replacement was found, the company said.

"The board and I have naturally been discussing plans for my succession for some time and this is a good moment to formalise the process," said Lord Stevenson, who joined the board in 1986 as a non-executive director and moved to the chairman’s office in May 1997.

With his 60th birthday later this year, he said he was "planning some new projects outside the plc world".

A spokesman for HBOS said Lord Stevenson had agreed to renew that chairmanship for another three years from June, but would not take on the same role at any other FTSE 100 company.

Rather, he was likely to dedicate time outside HBOS to interests outwith the business arena, particularly the arts.

Reports prior to Pearson’s announcement claimed Lord Stevenson was relinquishing the post before he was criticised for staying too long.

The executive claimed Pearson was in "excellent shape" and was "looking forward to some very good years".

The world’s largest education publisher has changed considerably during his tenure. It has disposed of tourist attraction Madame Tussauds and investment bank Lazard, making it primarily an education business.

Pearson, which has stemmed losses at the FT and believes its education strategy will pay dividends, is today expected to unveil a 6 per cent fall in profits to 3.82 billion, largely owing to the weak dollar. However, analysts have speculated that, after Lord Stevenson’s departure, chief executive Dame Marjoram Scardino - who has "no plans to move on" - might consider disposing of Penguin.

It is expected to be the subject of a write-down, after suffering higher-than-anticipated returns in the US and supply chain woes in the UK.

A spokeswoman declined to comment, but said Dame Scardino was "very happy with the shape of the group".