Close Brothers has announced that Mike Biggs has been appointed an independent non-executive director and chairman designate of the group.

He joins the board as a director today and will become chairman of the board on 1 May.  

Biggs will succeed Strone Macpherson, who has confirmed his intention to step down on 30 April. He has been a non-executive director of the group since 2003 and chairman since 2008.

Biggs has been chairman of Direct Line Insurance Group plc since 2012 and has over 40 years’ experience of the financial services industry. He was previously chairman of Resolution Limited, the FTSE 100 UK life assurance business, and has acted as both CEO and group finance director of Resolution plc.  Prior to that he was group finance director of Aviva plc.

He has been appointed a member of the nomination and governance committee from 14 March, a member of the audit, risk and remuneration committees from 14 March until 1 May, and will become chairman of the board and of the nomination and governance committee on 1 May.

Macpherson said: “I am delighted to announce the appointment of Mike as chairman of Close Brothers.  He comes with a strong reputation and broad experience of the financial services industry, and I am confident he will be a great asset to the organisation.”

Biggs added: “I am honoured to have been appointed chairman of Close Brothers, which is a long-established, high quality group with an enviable track record, and I look forward to overseeing the continued evolution of its successful business model over the coming years.”