Hannah Grove

Hannah Grove brings more than 20 years of experience operating in a global financial institution in leadership positions in marketing and communications. Prior to her retirement in November 2020, she served as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for State Street, responsible for teams delivering brand, reputation, business and product marketing, social media, digital marketing and client experience.

Before becoming CMO, Ms Grove served as SVP and head of Global Corporate Communications for State Street, with responsibility for media relations, employee and executive communications. As CMO, she was a member of State Street’s Management Committee, at the time its senior-most strategy and policymaking team.

During her career at State Street, Ms Grove served on the Company’s Business Conduct and Risk and Conduct Standards committees, co-chaired its Talent Council charged with senior executive promotions and led a number of employee networks and diversity initiatives. She also served as a board member for State Street Hangzhou, its China legal entity.

Once Melanie Gee has stood down, Ms Grove will succeed her as the Board Employee Engagement designated NED and she will be appointed a member of the Nomination and Governance Committee.

The fund management firm rebranded from Standard Life Aberdeen to abrdn last month.

Commenting on these changes, Sir Douglas Flint, chairman of abrdn plc, said: “On behalf of the Board and the whole company, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Melanie for her outstanding service to the Board, recognising she will be with us for another three months.

“During her tenure on the Board, she has played a key part in the Board’s discussions of transactions which delivered fundamental change to the structure and future direction of the Group. In particular, Melanie was our first Board Employee Engagement designated NED and her enthusiasm for and commitment to that role has made sure that our employee engagement processes and output deliver their objectives. We wish Melanie the very best when she moves forward to the next stage of her career.

“I am very pleased to welcome Hannah to our Board. Her direct experience across brand, client experience, business and digital marketing and communications strategies will be of great value to our discussions.”