Royal London chairman Kevin Parry to step down

Royal London’s chair has announced that he will leave the role after serving on the board for six years.
Kevin Parry has informed the board of the insurance and asset management group that he is stepping down with immediate effect.
Lynne Peacock, deputy chair, will take on Parry’s responsibilities on an interim basis and start the search for a permanent replacement.
Parry, 62, said: “It has been a privilege to chair Britain’s leading mutual insurance and asset management group.
“The group needs to ­continue to develop its strategy to take advantage of market opportunities for growth across its insurance and asset management businesses for the benefit of our members. That requires leadership from a chair who can commit to a medium-term tenure of five or so years, which is not available to me.”
Parry was previously a finance director at Schroders and a senior independent director at the funds house now known as Abrdn. He led an unsuccessful attempt to buy the rival insurance mutual LV= during his tenure at Royal London and is chairman of Nationwide, which has merged with Virgin Money in a £2.9 billion deal.
Peacock, 70, said: “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Kevin for his advice and guidance in leading the strategic development of Royal London over the time of his tenure and wish him all the best in his next ventures.”
“Personally, I have known Kevin for many years and whilst I know that we will all miss him, we understand the reasons for his decision.”
Royal London has been knocked by fund redemptions since the departure of Peter Rutter, a star fund manager, was announced in April. The mutual insurance group said in August that £1.7 billion had been redeemed by investors from funds managed by Rutter since he announced his departure.