Legal & General Hires Santander’s Simoes as CEO

British insurer Legal & General has hired Banco Santander’s António Simões as its new CEO, it said on Thursday, replacing Nigel Wilson.

Simões, who has been regional head of Europe for Santander since September 2020, will take up his position on Jan. 1 next year, subject to regulatory approval, L&G said in a statement.

Wilson announced his retirement earlier this year after more than a decade in the job, during which the company’s profit and share price has more than doubled.

In his current role, Simões leads Santander’s retail and commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth management and insurance businesses in the UK, Spain, Portugal and Poland.

Before joining Santander, he spent 13 years at HSBC and has also worked for consultants McKinsey.

“Antonio brings a formidable leadership track record at the most senior level of financial services, working across complex, global organizations,” said L&G Chair John Kingman in the company’s statement.

Simoes will receive a basic salary of 1.175 million pounds ($1.49 million) a year, L&G said.

“This is a critical time for our industry, clients and customers, with emerging technologies, changing societal dynamics and wider economic forces presenting new challenges and opportunities that require all of us to adapt and evolve,” Simões said in the statement.

($1 = 0.7908 pounds)

(Reporting by Simon Jessop in London and Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; editing by Savio D’Souza and Jan Harvey)