Butterfield Bank announced the nomination of former HSBC North America Chief Executive Officer Brendan McDonagh for election to its board of directors and the annual general meeting of shareholders on 1 May, 2012.
If successful, Mr. McDonagh is slated to become the executive chairman of the bank.
Butterfield’s current Chairman Robert Mulderig has decided to retire from the board at the conclusion of the 2012 AGM as part of the intended orderly board transition that was disclosed to shareholders last year. Mr. Mulderig has served as a non-executive director since 1996 and was appointed as chairman in 2007.
In his role as executive chairman, Mr. McDonagh will work closely with Butterfield’s board and current management team, headed by President and Chief Executive Officer Bradford Kopp, to continue implementing the bank’s strategic objectives.
These include enhancing the sustainable profitability of the bank, improving coordination of resources across jurisdictions and enhancing the core businesses of community banking and wealth management, Butterfield said in a news release.
Mr. McDonagh will be retained as a strategic adviser to the board from 23 January, 2012, to familiarise himself with each of the bank’s businesses and liaise with Mr. Mulderig to effect a seamless transition of the chairman’s duties.
Shaun Morris, managing partner of the Appleby (Bermuda) law firm, a director of the bank and head of Butterfield’s Corporate Governance Committee of the board, led the recruiting effort, both locally and globally, in conjunction with a leading international search firm.
Mr. Morris said, “Butterfield is fortunate to have a senior international banker with a long-standing reputation for effective leadership joining our organisation. Brendan’s extensive experience in many facets of the banking business, along with his first-hand knowledge of financial services in several jurisdictions, including Guernsey and the United Kingdom, where Butterfield has significant operations, will serve the Bank well going forward.”
Olivier Sarkozy, managing director and head of the Global Financial Services group at private equity firm, The Carlyle Group, which was one of the leading participants in the $420 million recapitalisation of Butterfield in 2010, welcomed Mr. McDonagh’s appointment.
“From a shareholder’s perspective, Carlyle is extremely pleased with Butterfield’s choice for its future executive chairman. Brendan has the experience and market knowledge needed to lead the continued turnaround at the Bank,” Mr. Sarkozy said.
Speaking on behalf of the board, Mr. Morris thanked Mr. Mulderig for his contributions to Butterfield, saying, “Rob was one of the architects of the recapitalisation of Butterfield, and his presence as Chairman was one of the key factors in the success of that effort. It is under Rob’s leadership that Butterfield was able to restructure and divest itself of problematic assets and return to profitability.”
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