Stephen McGee

Mr McGee, who joined the Board of Scottish Friendly as a non-executive director in September of this year, will join as CEO from Aegon where he has been chief financial officer (CFO) since 2016. Prior to Aegon, Mr McGee 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 will take over from Martin Pringle who has been acting CEO, since the passing of Jim Galbraith in April 2021, providing stability and time for the Board to make a long-term appointment to lead Scottish Friendly. Martin will remain as acting CEO until Stephen’s arrival.

Stephen 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.

“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.”

Martin Pringle added: “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.”

David Huntley, chair, commented: “Everyone at Scottish Friendly is incredibly grateful to Martin for stepping up when the business needed him most. His time as CEO (Acting) provided the steady leadership needed during an incredibly difficult time while, importantly, giving the Board time and space to make such an important long-term appointment.

“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.”