AMP has hired former Credit Suisse executive Francesco De Ferrari as its new chief executive.
De Ferrari joins the scandal-hit financial services giant after 17 years with Credit Suisse where he was chief executive for South-East Asia and frontier markets, and head of private banking for the Asia-Pacific region.
He succeeds Mike Wilkins, who has served as interim chief executive since April, and will start his new job on 1 December.
In March, Craig Meller announced his intention to retire at the end of 2018, however, he stepped down from his role with immediate effect in late April following misconduct revelations by AMP at the banking royal commission hearings.
Wilkins will work with De Ferrari to ensure a smooth handover before returning to his position as a non-executive director on the AMP board.
De Ferrari will join the AMP board as an executive director at the first board meeting in January 2019.
Commenting on the appointment, AMP chairman David Murray said: “Francesco is an outstanding leader with a strong track record in international wealth management and extensive experience in redesigning business models to drive turnaround and growth.
“The board conducted an extensive global search to identify the best leader to drive change at AMP.
“Francesco is a proven change agent who will bring the strategic acumen and expertise to spearhead the transformation needed in our business.”
Murray said the company has designed a remuneration structure to drive the recovery of AMP and recognise the degree of challenge in the task ahead.
“[De Ferrari’s] remuneration and incentives are directly aligned with the interests of shareholders,” he said.
“With his track record of commitment to clients and business performance, I have no doubt he is the right person to lead the recovery of AMP and set the strategy for future growth.”
De Ferrari said while 2018 has been a challenging year for the company, he was confident it could earn back trust, which will underpin the recovery of business performance.
“I’m encouraged by the process of change already initiated by the board and I’m committed to accelerating this change, while maximising the opportunities we have both in Australia and internationally,” he said.
