HSBC sounds out ex-McKinsey chief Sneader about chairmanship

A former McKinsey boss is among the many candidates being thought-about to interchange Sir Mark Tucker because the chairman of HSBC Holdings.

Sky Information has learnt that Kevin Sneader, who was voted out of the worldwide consulting agency in 2021 following a string of crises, has been approached in regards to the high job on the London-headquartered financial institution.

Metropolis sources mentioned that Mr Sneader was one in every of numerous folks being thought-about by the board nomination committee assembled by HSBC.

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Scottish-born Mr Sneader left McKinsey after it agreed to pay $600m to 49 US states for its function in advising opioid producers.

Since then, he has taken a senior function at Goldman Sachs, the place he now serves as president of Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan.

He’s additionally a member of the accomplice ranks of the Wall Avenue financial institution.

One insider prompt that the circumstances of Mr Sneader’s exit from McKinsey, in addition to the truth that he has little expertise working or chairing London-listed companies, may weigh towards him as HSBC deliberates over the selection of Sir Mark’s successor.

On Friday, HSBC mentioned Sir Mark would go away in September, after which he would return to chair AIA, the Hong Kong-based insurance coverage firm he beforehand ran.

Within the interim, Brendan Nelson, would take over as chair, with senior unbiased director Ann Godbehere main the method to discover a everlasting substitute.

As a monetary behemoth with deep ties to each China and the US, HSBC is deeply uncovered to escalating commerce and diplomatic tensions between the 2 nations.

When he was appointed in 2017, Mr Tucker turned the primary outsider to take the submit within the financial institution’s 152-year historical past – and which has an enormous presence on the excessive road because of its acquisition of the Midland Financial institution in 1992.

He oversaw a fast change of management, appointing financial institution veteran John Flint to interchange Stuart Gulliver as chief govt.

The transition didn’t work out positively, nonetheless, with Mr Tucker deciding to sack Mr Flint after simply 18 months.

He was changed on an interim foundation by Noel Quinn in the summertime of 2018, with that change changing into everlasting in April 2020.

Mr Quinn spent an additional 4 years within the submit earlier than deciding to step down, and in July he was succeeded by Georges Elhedery, a long-serving govt in HSBC’s markets unit and extra not too long ago the financial institution’s chief monetary officer.

The brand new chief’s first huge transfer within the high job was to unveil a sweeping reorganisation of HSBC that sees it reshaped into japanese markets and western markets companies.

He additionally determined to merge its industrial and funding banking operations right into a single division.

The restructuring, which Mr Elhedery mentioned would “lead to a less complicated, extra dynamic, and agile organisation” has however drawn a combined response from analysts.

HSBC didn’t reply to a request for remark.