Sir Gerry Grimstone pops up again at Standard Life Aberdeen

Until recently Grimstone had been chair of Standard Life Aberdeen group. Picture: Graham Flack

Grimstone’s appointment follows his recent decision to step down from his roles as a non-executive director of Barclays and chairman of its subsidiary, Barclays Bank.

Former HSBC chairman, Scottish-born Sir Douglas Flint, succeeded Grimstone as chairman of Standard Life Aberdeen at the start of this year.

The joint venture involving Aberdeen Standard Investments and Investcorp is to pump cash into social and core infrastructure projects in Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries, which have a collective population of about 57 million people and are home to almost half the world’s oil reserves. Governments there are now taking steps to diversify their economies away from oil.

Grimstone said: “I am delighted to be appointed chairman of the joint venture. The long-term economic potential of GCC is unquestionable but rightly governments across the region recognise the need to build and improve their countries’ infrastructure.

“The private sector has a key role to play. Aberdeen Standard Investments’ and Investcorp’s experience and expertise can help to deliver these essential projects.”

Martin Gilbert, co-chief executive of Aberdeen Standard Investments, added: “Having someone of Sir Gerry Grimstone’s stature and quality chairing this new joint venture shows just how significant this opportunity is for both Investcorp and Aberdeen Standard Investments.”

Mohammed Alardhi, executive chairman of Investcorp, said: “Our joint initiative to invest in Gulf infrastructure projects is an exciting step forward for Investcorp and Aberdeen Standard Investments, and we are very pleased to welcome Sir Gerry as chairman of the venture.

“Sir Gerry’s leadership, combined with the alternative investment expertise of two established, leading global investment firms, will position the business strongly in what is an exciting stage in the region’s development.”