Scottish Friendly hires Aegon finance chief Stephen McGee for CEO post

Scottish Friendly has named Aegon finance chief Stephen McGee as its next chief executive, taking over from Martin Pringle, who has been acting CEO since Jim Galbraith passed away in April.

Mr McGee, who joined the board of Glasgow-based Scottish Friendly as a non-executive director in September, will take the reins in April, subject to the relevant approvals, from Aegon where he has been chief financial officer since 2016.

He previously held senior positions at a number of financial institutions including chief actuary at Lloyds Banking Group and head of actuarial at Phoenix Group.

Mr McGee said: “It is a great honour to be appointed the next CEO of Scottish Friendly. I have known the organisation for some time and have always greatly admired its innovation, pace, and commitment to a coherent and successful vision and purpose repeatedly articulated to me by Jim Galbraith over the years.

Stephen McGee will take up the CEO role in April, saying he will help build on a record year for the firm. Picture: Noleen Park.

“Scottish Friendly already has a balanced, well-respected and dedicated team in place and I am very much looking forward to working with them all, building on what has been a record year of sales for the business, and continuing the success story that is Scottish Friendly.”

Mr Pringle said: “While enormously proud to have been able to provide stability and continuity to the business following Jim’s passing, I am delighted with the appointment of Stephen as CEO, and excited about what Scottish Friendly can achieve under his leadership.

"I, and the rest of the team, very much look forward to working closely with him as we continue to build on the excellent work and growth of the past to serve our current and future members.”

Chair David Huntley praised Mr Pringle for “stepping up when the business needed him most,” and as for the incoming CEO, he continued by saying: “Stephen greatly impressed the board with a unique combination of drive, enthusiasm, experience and knowledge.

"We believe he is an excellent fit for the organisation and will provide expert leadership to the whole team at Scottish Friendly delivering on our vision and purpose whilst creating long term value for our members.”

The mutual life and investments organisation has roots stretching back to 1862, and in recent years has undergone a major restructure of its business.

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