Insignia overhauls leadership, operating model
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The news: Insignia Financial has announced a "major overhaul" of its operating model and executive team, a day after the company denied knowledge of a reported private equity takeover bid for the investment advice company.
The numbers: Insignia shares ended 6.8% lower on Wednesday, after climbing more than 13% on Tuesday following media reports that the company had tapped investment bankers at Citi to weigh potential interest from private equity groups.
Shares were up 1.3% to $2.35 by 11:00am AEST.
The context: Insignia said the overhaul was designed to "drive growth and provide clearer lines of accountability to simplify and streamline the business".
The new structure will centre around four dedicated lines of business: asset management, superannuation, wrap platform and advice.
The new leadership team is a mix of existing executives and new external appointments, including Renee Howie as chief customer officer, Jason Sommer as chief operating officer, and Liz McCarthy as CEO of MLC Expand, responsible for the wrap platforms business.
Insignia has also appointed a new CEO of superannuation, which will be announced in the coming weeks. The company is also recruiting for a new chief technology officer, with current chief operating and technology officer Frank Lombardo acting in the role.
The new appointments will join Insignia's new leadership team, which includes existing executives MLC asset management CEO Garry Mulcahy, chief financial officer David Chalmers, chief people officer Mel Walls, chief risk officer Anvij Saxena, chief legal officer Lawrence Hastings and group company secretary Adrianna Bisogni.
Insignia also announced that Lombardo, as well as current chief distribution officer Mark Oliver and chief client officer Chris Weldon, will depart the company "over the coming months".
What they said: Insignia's CEO Scott Hartley said: "Since joining Insignia Financial in March, I’ve taken the time to meet with and listen to our stakeholders, including our boards, team members, shareholders, regulators and key customer groups on where the opportunities lie for us as a business, what we’re doing well and what we could be doing better".
"These decisive changes address that feedback and will ultimately allow us to simplify and streamline our operating model to ensure we are better aligned to deliver to our customers, and all our stakeholders, now and into the future," he said.
The source: Insignia Financial media release
