CEO of IG Group Tim Howkins announces retirement

Tim Howkins, CEO of IG Group Holdings plc (LON:IGG) is set to retire from his position, having informed the Board of his intention to retire, and will step down as CEO and as a director at the AGM in October. After the AGM, Peter Hetherington, a Board member since 2002 and currently Chief Operating Officer, will assume the role of Interim Chief Executive, subject to regulatory approval.

As reported via the London Stock Exchange today, Mr. Howkins’ service at IG Group will conclude after a 16 year senior level career at the firm. Mr. Howkins is well recognized as a very astute professional whose leadership at IG Group has ensured the company’s unfaltering stability, conducted with utmost professionalism.

Mr. Howkins’ stature as a true gentleman will most certainly be remembered throughout the industry, and LeapRate wishes Mr. Howkins a very well deserved and fulfilling retirement.

Tim Howkins commented: “After 16 years at IG, seven as CFO and almost nine as CEO, I have informed the board of my intention to retire.”

“Firstly and mainly, I would like to thank all of IG’s employees, past and present, for their hard work and dedication and for helping to make the last 16 years such an enjoyable and rewarding experience. I would also like to express my gratitude to the clients who have put their trust in IG over the years. I also want to thank the loyal shareholders who put their faith in IG and supported it with their investment” continued Mr. Howkins.

“During my time at IG I have seen our business transform, as we have grown revenues from £12 million to an underlying £400 million. In my time as CEO, we have grown earnings per share from 10.88 pence to an underlying 41.07 pence, and have gone from less than 10% of our revenue coming from outside the UK to now almost 50%. Our group now has offices in 20 countries and includes a US regulated exchange and a Swiss Bank. This has been a great team effort.”

“I have been surrounded by an extremely talented senior management team, a number of whom have been with me throughout my tenure as CEO, and I have every confidence that this team will continue to drive the business forward with the same degree of success. I very much look forward to seeing the more recent initiatives we have started together come to fruition over the coming years” he concluded.

Andy Green, Chairman of IG, said:”After a long and extremely successful career at IG, as both CFO and CEO, Tim Howkins has informed the Board of his intention to retire. Tim’s career at IG has spanned 16 years and he has been part of and led extremely dedicated teams which have built IG from a single office in London to the global leader it is today. Although I have only had the pleasure of working with Tim for the last year, I would like to express my personal gratitude and I’m sure I speak for all the employees at IG, past and present, in wishing him every success in the future. The Board is disappointed to lose somebody with Tim’s proven leadership skills but fully understands his decision.

The Board has commenced a thorough search and selection process for a permanent successor, and I am pleased that Peter Hetherington, who has been integral to the successful development of the company, has confirmed that he would like to enter this process.”

For the official announcement from the London Stock Exchange, click here.

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