British insurer Aviva hires Blackstone's Tom Stoddard as CFO

LONDON (Reuters) - British insurer Aviva Plc (LSE:AV.) has hired private equity firm Blackstone's (NYS:BX) Tom Stoddard as chief financial officer, the company said on Friday.

Stoddard, currently senior managing director, head of global financial institutions advisory at Blackstone, replaces Pat Regan, whose departure for Australian rival QBE (QBE.AX) was announced in January.

While at Blackstone Stoddard has been a corporate adviser to Aviva since the start of 2013, which the insurer said gave him "in-depth knowledge of the business".

Stoddard's appointment is the latest in a string of top-level changes since Chief Executive Mark Wilson arrived in 2013 after a shareholder revolt ousted his predecessor.

Wilson has since been steering a root-and-branch revamp of the company that has seen it reshuffle its business priorities, ditching non-core assets and expanding overseas.

Stoddard, whose appointment has been approved by regulators, will start at Aviva on May 5.

A former Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX), UBS (UBSN.VX) and Lehman Brothers banker, he will receive a basic annual salary of 675,000 pounds ($1.13 million) and a bonus of up to one and a half times that figure. Two thirds of any award made into Aviva stock must be deferred for three years, the company said.

(Reporting by Clare Hutchison; Editing by David Goodman)