AMP chief executive Alexis George will step down from the top job on 30 March 2026 having led the company for five years and stabilising it at possibly its lowest point.
Joining AMP in August 2021, George led a cultural reset at the company following its evisceration at the Hayne royal commission, the reputational damage of which was which was later compounded by inappropriate behaviour by executives to women in the company; changes to the Buyers Of Last Resort policy; and a number of class actions from shareholders, advisers and clients.
George was responsible for the sale of AMP Capital, the divestment of AMP Life to Resolution Life and the sale of its licensee businesses to Entireti.
AMP chair Mike Hirst tells Professional Planner that it was the “right time” for George to leave the business and that it is in a culturally better place today because of her.
“One of the reasons that Lex has decided now is the right time for her is that we’ve gone through that phase of stabilising the company,” Hirst says.
“We’ve gone through the transformation, we’ve gone through the simplification. We’ve now put in place the businesses that make sense for us at the moment.”
Hirst says George would have been weighing up whether she was prepared to give another five years to executing the company’s strategy.
“Given the tough role she had where she’s probably done 15 years’ work in five, I can understand why she’s got to that decision,” Hirst says.
AMP announced the appointment of chief financial officer Blair Vernon as new group chief executive to the ASX on Tuesday morning “following a thorough internal and external search process conducted by a top tier executive search firm”. Hirst didn’t specify when the search began.
“As a board, you’re always looking at succession planning, so there’s not really a stop start in these things,” Hirst says.
“A lot of people would say the board has one real role and that is to hire and fire the CEO so if you ascribe to that view – and personally, I don’t – but if you do, then you understand that’s something that the board’s continually working at. We’ve been working on succession all the time.”
The company now operates four business lines: superannuation, led by Melinda Howes; platforms led by Edwina Maloney; a banking business led by Sean O’Malley; and a New Zealand wealth management arm led by Jeff Ruscoe.
Hirst says the board sees momentum in the business and there isn’t expected to be any major strategic shifts.
“Strategy is always a little bit fuzzy, things have to change depending on what’s happening in the market,” Hirst says.
“But in terms of a general direction owning that retirement space is where we see we can add value to our shareholders and the community. Blair was part of putting that strategy together so his commitment to it will also be pretty strong.”
Blair was previously CEO/managing director of AMP New Zealand wealth management from January 2017, and prior to this served as director retail financial services; director of advice and sales, and general manager marketing and distribution. He also played a key role in the company’s transformation over the past few years, and detailed at least year’s Professional Planner Licensee Summit the realities of the ongoing operations of the licensee business.
He served as group executive transformation for AMP and group executive for the New Zealand business from May 2022 until July 2023 when he became group CFO. From August 2020 to January 2021, Blair served as acting CEO for AMP Australia before the appointment of Scott Hartley.
Blair’s full remuneration package will be $1.4 million with short term incentives equivalent to 100 per cent of salary for on target performance and 125 per cent if he achieves specific performance hurdles.
He will also receive long-term incentive opportunities valued at 100 per cent of his salary, subject to KPIs.
All of George’s incentives will be treated in accordance with her contract and the original offer terms, as publicly disclosed.
