The IOOF Holdings Limited (ASX: IFL) share price has edged higher this morning after announcing the appointment of its new chief executive officer.
At the time of writing the embattled financial services company's shares are up slightly to $5.33.
What was announced?
IOOF has announced the appointment of Renato Mota as its chief executive officer and managing director with immediate effect.
Mr Mota had been serving as the company's acting chief executive officer since December 2018 following the exit of Christopher Kelaher.
IOOF's chairman, Allan Griffiths, said the appointment "marks a new era as we reset the business and focus on the future."
He revealed that after a thorough executive search and rigorous interview process, which included external and internal candidates, it was clear that Mr Mota was the right person to refocus the company and restore trust with its stakeholders.
He added: "The robustness of our succession plan enabled us to appoint Renato to the role of Acting CEO in December 2018. Since then, Renato has created a clear direction for our business and our people, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to restoring trust through setting higher expectations."
Mr Griffiths also spoke highly of the new chief executive's track record over the last few years.
The chairman said: "Renato 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 ClientFirst 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."
He has now been mandated to continue the change program he commenced as acting CEO, to re-shape the IOOF business, and adapt its culture and capability to suit the evolving wealth management environment.
Mr Mota advised that he was excited by the opportunity to lead the next phase of IOOF's transformation and appeared confident on the future.
The new CEO said: "We are already making significant progress in uplifting our governance and restoring trust. To accelerate this, I have commenced a review of IOOF's senior management to ensure it is culturally aligned and has the capabilities that reflect our higher organisational ambitions and expectations."
Adding: "While extending the scope of our change program, we remain focused on maintaining the strong momentum of the business and continuing our track-record of delivering strong, sustainable financial performance."
IOOF wasn't the only company in the financial sector looking for a CEO. Banking giant National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) continues to search for a replacement for Andrew Thorburn and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) is on the lookout for a CEO for its New Zealand bank.
