Richard moved into the new role on 1 March, from his previous position of group chief operating officer at LV=. He joined the leading mutual financial services provider in early 2007 from Barclays, where he held a number of senior positions.
Richard was appointed as a main board director of LV= in August 2007. As group chief operating officer he has played a key role in improving the firm's organisational fitness and financial performance over the last three years.
Mike Rogers, LV= group chief executive, said: "We're very pleased to have had an ideal candidate who we could appoint internally, to help us achieve continuity and an immediate transition. As a main board member of LV=, Richard has been able to build up a good understanding of our life and pensions business and has contributed significantly to the turnaround of the LV= group over the last three years."
Richard replaces former managing director of the LV= life business Rodney Cook, who is moving to Just Retirement in July this year.
