Aviva hires RBS director as new chairman

Aviva has named John McFarlane, a director of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), as new chairman to succeed Lord Sharman of Redlynch at the end of June 2012.

Initially, McFarlane will join Aviva as new non-executive director on 1 September 2011 and will become deputy chairman on 1 January 2012, finally replacing Lord Sharman of Redlynch in June 2012.

McFarlane, who will step down from the RBS in March 2012, will relocate from Australia to UK to take over as a chairman of Aviva.

McFarlane spend 10 years as CEO of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ). He also held various positions including, executive director at Standard Chartered, head of Citibank in the UK and Ireland, a non-executive director of the London Stock Exchange.

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