(Bloomberg) -- Abrdn Plc has named its former finance chief and interim Chief Executive Officer Jason Windsor as the new man to lead the troubled asset manager.
In a statement announcing the appointment on Tuesday, Windsor said he saw “significant headroom” in Abrdn’s core businesses, with the “potential to generate a step-change in performance.” Ian Jenkins will continue as Abrdn’s interim group chief financial officer and the company will kick off a search process for his permanent successor.
Windsor, 52, took over as interim CEO in May when Stephen Bird stepped down following a few tumultuous years at the Edinburgh-based firm. Shares of Abrdn were little changed in London trading early Tuesday.
Ever since Windsor joined the firm in October, he had sparked industry speculation about being a likely successor to Bird. Seen as a safe pair of hands both inside and outside the company, he has a City of London career spanning more than three decades, including 12 years at insurer Aviva Plc and 15 years as a Morgan Stanley investment banker. Before joining Abrdn, he was CFO at homebuilder Persimmon Plc.
Windsor is inheriting an asset manager that’s worn out by years of outflows and consecutive rounds of job cuts. The industry itself has been grappling with years of client redemptions and squeezed margins that have led to to mergers and belt-tightening measures as firms try to survive, but Abrdn’s troubles have been more pronounced.
During his tenure, Bird tried to turn Abrdn into a diversified investment firm that wouldn’t rely as heavily on mutual funds, a plan that ultimately failed to convince investors and shareholders, leading to tens of billions of outflows and a stock price drop of about 30%. He divided the business into three parts: an asset management business, a wealth arm and a platform for advisers, and took steps to make the funds unit leaner.
Abrdn’s rival Schroders Plc also named a new CEO on Tuesday, ending a five-month search. Finance chief Richard Oldfield will be taking over from Peter Harrison on Nov. 8, the London-based money manager said.
(Updates with share price in third paragraph and Schroders CEO in last.)
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