Standard Chartered appoints new finance chief as Andy Halford steps down after a decade
Standard Chartered finance chief Andy Halford has announced he will step down having served for nearly a decade in the role.
Halford, who has been at the bank since 2014, will be replaced by Diego de Giorgi, most recently co-CEO of Pegasus Europe, Europe’s largest-ever special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
Prior to his role at Pegasus, de Giorgi was a non-executive director at Unicredit from 2020 to 2021 and served in leadership roles at Bank of America Merrill Lynch between 2013 and 2019.
Halford will continue to serve until approval is given to “ensure a smooth transition”. He will remain as a senior adviser until his retirement at the end of August next year.
De Georgi will join the bank tomorrow as the CFO designate and, subject to regulatory approval, will be appointed in the first quarter of 2024.
“I look forward to helping maximise the great potential of Standard Chartered while maintaining financial discipline and capital strength,” he said.
“With over three decades of experience in the global financial services sector, he brings strong business experience, deep commercial acumen, strategic expertise and leadership skills,” chief executive Bill Winters said.
Under Halford, Standard Chartered has been attempting to streamline its operations after running vast losses shortly before he took over.
In recent months, the bank exited markets in sub-Saharan Africa and Jordan. Earlier this week, it sold its jet leasing arm to a Saudi wealth fund for $3.6bn (£2.8bn).
At its most recent set of results, it announced a new $1bn share buyback programme after pretax profit climbed 18 per cent to $1.5bn.
Halford said that “after nearly ten years restoring the bank’s operational and financial performance to its previous levels… it is the right time to pass the GCFO role to a new leader”.