Troubled wealth group IOOF obviously found it impossible to recruit a new CEO externally (as did rival AMP) so it has settled for the stand in bloke to take up the gig permanently.
In a widely tipped move by analysts, IOOF yesterday revealed that interim CEO Renato Mota will take on the chief executive role permanently as of yesterday.
Mr. Mota fills the job vacated by the departure of longtime CEO, Chris Kelaher last April. He will earn $1.2 million a year but there will be no short term bonuses.
Mr. Kelaher left after the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) sought to disqualify him for allegedly not being a “fit and proper” person to run a super fund.
The IOOF board will also appoint Andrew Bloor as an independent non-executive director. He has been an independent non-executive director on the boards of three IOOF subsidiaries.
Now that the company has a major deadline coming up shortly.
IOOF faces a June 30 APRA deadline to overhaul its super business.
The company is also is facing difficulties in completing the $1 billion purchase of ANZ’s pensions and investments business, OnePath.
The deal could collapse if the OnePath trustee board decides the acquisition is not in the best interests of its members. That is on the cards. There is a deadline of mid-October for a decision on the deal.
IOOF shares fell 2.6% to $5.18 in reaction to the news. That’s 30 cents away from the 2019 low of $4.888 hit in February.
The AMP’s shares hit another all-time closing low yesterday of $2.03, down 1.4%. They actually hit an all-time low of $2 during trading.
According to the ASX announcement, Mr. Mota will have a fixed salary (including superannuation) of $1.2 million. As for variable remuneration, he will have no short-term incentives, however, he will have a long-term incentive (LTI) of 100% of fixed remuneration.
The performance period for the LTI is four years from the date of grant, with grant eligibility and vesting determined by a number of financial and non-financial metrics, IOOF said.
Further, Mr. Mota will be eligible to participate in IOOF’s future LTI arrangements on terms decided by the board and subject to shareholder approval.
In the statement, IOOF chairman Allan Griffiths said Mr. Mota has a track record over a number of years in leading IOOF through a series of forward-thinking, strategic initiatives.
“These include the development of our advice-led strategy, the introduction of our Client First transformation, which began in 2015, and establishing our Advice Academy from 2016, a goals-based coaching and business management program for financial advisers to help improve the quality of financial advice,” Mr. Griffiths said.
