Yahoo Finance Prudential's Asia boss quits amid rapid expansion in China
The head of Prudential's rapidly rising Asia business is to leave the British insurer, triggering a surprise management reshuffle at the business just as earnings in China more than double.
Tony Wilkey - hired from larger rival AIG in 2006 to help speed up growth in Asia under Barry Stowe, who is now North America head - is stepping down "to pursue new challenges", the company said on Thursday.
The move surprised the market, with Panmure Gordon analyst Barrie Cornes saying the exit was unexpected given that he only took on the top job two years ago "having been number two for 10 years prior to that".
Moving quickly to fill his shoes, the firm has named chief financial officer Nic Nicandrou as its new Asia head with Deloitte UK managing partner Mark FitzPatrick to replace him.
Mr Nicandrou has been in the finance role since 2009, keeping the job despite a management reshuffle two years ago "where almost all the business heads moved roles with the sole exception of the well regarded CFO", Mr Cornes said.
Group chief executive Mike Wells said that Mr Nicandrou had "proven himself" over the years and will lead the Asia unit to "further success".
The news coincided with the group's annual general meeting and first quarter results, the latter of which highlighted how much its Asia business contributes to overall profits as its gamble on Asia's rising middle class continues to pay off.
New business profit across Asia surged 26pc for the first three months of the year, driven by activity in China, the company said, while its UK asset management arm M&G posted a 5pc boost in assets under management to £144bn and net inflows of £3.6bn.
However, later on Thursday, Prudential became the latest business to face an investor backlash over pay at its annual general meeting, with over 11pc of investors refusing to back its directors' remuneration report.
Insurance giant eSure also faced a revolt over pay on Thursday, with 16pc of its shareholders voting against its remuneration report.
