Link share price buoyed by appointment of new CEO

The Link share price is on watch today following news that the company has appointed a new CEO.

Daniel Ewing

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Daniel moved to the Gold Coast, Australia at age 11. Nine years later he is in his third year of University at Monash in Melbourne. While starting out in a Science Degree, Daniel realised it wasn’t for him and promptly transferred to Commerce where he has developed a passion for the stock market. When not studying, Daniel can be most often found at the beach thanks to a passion for surfing.

Published August 7, 2020 11:14 am AEST

The Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK) share price is today on watch following news that the company has decided on a new CEO. The share price is currently trading up 3.27% to $4.26 on the news

group of hands all giving thumbs up gesture — Image source: Getty Images

What does Link do?

Many of our readers may be familiar with the name Link Administration, as the company provides investor services to many prominent companies on the ASX.

Link Group connects millions of people with their assets including equities, pension and superannuation, investments, property and other financial assets. This is done by partnering with thousands of financial market participants to deliver services, solutions and technology platforms. Link aims to enhance the user experience and make scaled administration simple.

New CEO

Link has today announced that Vivek Bhatia is set to succeed John McMurtrie as Link Group Managing Director and CEO. Mr McMurtrie, will retire as managing director of Link Group in early 2021, after almost 2 decades of service to the company.

The Link Group Board determined Mr Bhatia, currently QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) CEO, was the standout candidate from an extensive international executive search as part of a planned succession process.

In order to facilitate a smooth transition Mr McMurtrie will work with Mr Bhatia over the coming months.

Who is Vivek Bhatia?

Vivek Bhatia is an experienced chief executive, having led a number of businesses during his 22-year career in financial services, government and management consulting. He has been CEO of QBE since 2018. In this role, he delivered a significant improvement in financial results, customer, broker and partner satisfaction scores and employee engagement.

For his services Mr Bhatia will receive payment of $1.3 million per year.

What now for Link?

The company has been hard hit by COVID-19, with the Link share price down by 27% so far this year. Furthermore, in worrying news for shareholders recent reports suggest the market wants to get rid of the current CHESS ownership system. This will have a significant impact on share registry companies such as Link and Computershare Limited (ASX: CPU), which derive business through this system.

Mr McMurtrie will present the full year results for Link on 27 August.

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