McFarlane to step in as Aviva chairman

For a decade, the Scottish-born businessman was chief executive at Australia and New Zealand Bank, one of the world’s major financial institutions.

He becomes deputy chairman of Aviva in January and then chairman in June 2012, taking over from Lord Sharman of Redlynch.

Lord Sharman said: “John McFarlane’s extensive experience as both an executive and non-executive director in international financial services will be invaluable to Aviva.

“Under his leadership, ANZ became one of Australia’s most respected and best-performing companies. I am very pleased that John is joining Aviva – he is an exceptional addition to an already strong board and will continue our focus on delivering shareholder value and serving all of Aviva’s constituents.”

Mr McFarlane, a former executive at Standard Chartered and Citibank, currently holds non-executive directorships at Royal Bank of Scotland and retail group Westfield. He will stand down from RBS by March.

He said: “Aviva is a great company and an excellent brand, and recent results show that the hard work over the last few years is paying off.

“I’ve been impressed with the people I have met and look forward to working with them.

“Aviva has a very promising future and I will be pleased to contribute to its ongoing success.”

Other candidates for the chairman had included Sir Richard Broadbent, but he opted for the chairmanship of Tesco instead.

The appointment of Mr McFarlane should calm investors after significant upheaval at the top of Aviva.

Mark Hodges, chief executive of the UK business, quit to join Towergate, while Toby Strauss, CEO of the York-based life operation, left to head up the insurance division at Lloyds Banking Group.