Hargreaves Lansdown appoints new CEO
Platform and wealth manager Hargreaves Lansdown has appointed Dunnhumby boss Dan Olley as its new chief executive officer and executive director, subject to regulatory approval.
He will replace outgoing chief Chris Hill who leaves the platform and wealth manager after six years.
Mr Olley will step down from his current role as chief executive at customer data science company Dunnhumby in 2023.
Mr Hill will remain in place as chief executive until Mr Olley is released from his current obligations. He will support the firm until November 2023, “to provide continuity and ensure an orderly transition.”
The firm has not provided details of Mr Olley's package but Mr Hill's basic salary is £700,000 plus bonuses, which netted him almost £2m in 2021.
A Hargeaves' spokesperson said: "Mr Olley's remuneration will be disclosed in the annual report – his total package will depend on the performance and delivery of the group’s strategic objectives, and he will be paid in accordance with our directors’ remuneration policy which has been approved by shareholders. His pay will be commensurate with his role and comparable with fees at other financial services groups and the FTSE-100 Index."
At Dunnhumby Mr Olley has been leading the development and implementation of a digital-first, data-driven transformation.
Before that he spent he spent 17 years at RELX where he held a series of senior digital roles and helped drive RELX's transformation into a global information analytics company.
He has been a non-executive director on Hargreaves Lansdown’s board since June 2019.
Deanna Oppenheimer, Hargreaves Lansdown chair, said: "Having worked with Dan in a non-executive capacity over the last three years, I have been highly impressed by both his strategic insight and his depth of experience in digital transformation and, as such, I am delighted that he will be the next CEO of HL.”
Mr Olley said Hargreaves Lansdown, “is a company with an exceptional track record, a strong strategic position and a formidable brand. I am tremendously excited at the opportunity to lead the business through its digital transformation and into its next stage of growth.”
HL is still facing a £100m lawsuit filed in October over its promotion of Neil Woodford’s flagship LF Woodford Equity Income Fund before it collapsed in 2019.
Around 300,000 investors had their money trapped in Woodford’s fund when it was frozen in June 2019, including more than 130,000 Hargreaves Lansdown clients.
The suit was filed by claims manager RGL Management on behalf of an initial 3,200 investors.
RGL is also suing Link Fund Solutions, the fund's authorised corporate director and said its claim could top £100m.
Hargreaves Lansdown has repeatedly rejected the allegations.
In October it faced a shareholder revolt against board re-elections with more than 30% voting against the re-election of chair Deanna Oppenheimer.
Its share price is down almost 40% this year falling from nearly 1400p at the start of the year to 835p today.