By Kosaku Narioka
HSBC Holdings appointed Group Chief Financial Officer Georges Elhedery as its new group chief executive after it unexpectedly announced earlier this year that its current chief would retire.
The London-based bank said Wednesday that the appointment would be effective from Sept. 2, when current CEO Noel Quinn will step down.
HSBC said in April that Quinn would retire to devote more time to his personal life and that he would remain at his post until the board designated a successor.
"The Board concluded that Georges was the outstanding candidate and we look forward to working together as he leads HSBC through the next phase of development and growth," Group Chairman Mark Tucker said.
Quinn steered the bank through the Covid-19 crisis and intensified its pivot to Asia. The bank has retrenched staff in some Western markets, including the U.S., Canada and France, while expanding in Asia, where it makes most of its pretax profit.
Elhedery, aged 50,joined HSBC in 2005 and was appointed as Group CFO in January 2023. He was previously Co-CEO of global banking & markets. He has worked in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
HSBC is one of the few banks that has a sizable presence in two hemispheres, as a big retail and commercial lender in the U.K., as well as across much of Asia.
As such, its leaders often play the role of diplomat as much as executive, traveling frequently to meet with politicians and corporate bosses in China and elsewhere in Asia, the U.S. and Europe.
HSBC said that an announcement in relation to Elhedery's successor as Group CFO would be made in due course.
Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
07-17-24 0207ET
