Scott Wheway

Mr Wheway will also be appointed non-executive director of the banking giant and Scottish Widows. His appointment at the pensions firm will come into effect on September 12 this year.

He is currently chair of Centrica plc and AXA UK plc, however, he will step down from his role as chair of AXA UK plc. Over the last 15 years, Mr Wheway has gained significant financial services board experience, having chaired Aviva Insurance Limited and served as a non-executive director of Aviva plc between 2007 and 2016.

Mr Wheway spent seven years on the board of Santander UK plc, where he was the senior independent director until 30 September 2020. Scott worked as an executive in the retail sector for over 25 years where he held positions including chief executive officer of Best Buy Europe, managing director of Boots the Chemist plc and a number of senior executive positions at Tesco plc.

Robin Budenberg, group chair, said: “Scott will bring a depth and breadth of knowledge and experience of large-scale banking and insurance to his roles with the Group. His track record as a non-executive and executive in customer-centric companies complements the Group’s strategy and will help us deliver the right outcomes for customers. I look forward to welcoming him to the Group.

“I would also like to thank Sophie O’Connor for taking on the role of interim chair of Scottish Widows Group since Nick Prettejohn stepped down from the role in September last year.”