George Osborne Shortlisted to Become HSBC Chair Amid Succession Uncertainty
George Osborne, the former UK chancellor from 2010 to 2016, has been shortlisted to become the next chair of HSBC Holdings, replacing Sir Mark Tucker. He is one of three remaining candidates for the position, alongside Naguib Kheraj, former Barclays finance director and deputy chairman of Standard Chartered, and Kevin Sneader, former McKinsey CEO now with Goldman Sachs in Asia.
Sir Mark Tucker stepped down as HSBC chair at the end of September but remains an adviser to the board. Brendan Nelson is serving as interim chair and will continue in the role until a permanent appointment is made. The board’s succession process has been criticized externally as chaotic, and currently, there is no clear frontrunner for the chair position.
Osborne's appointment could attract regulatory scrutiny due to his lack of prior experience as a public-company chair and direct banking background. If appointed, Osborne would be required to resign as a partner at merger advisory firm Robey Warshaw. Besides that, he holds several other roles including chairing the British Museum, advising Coinbase, and chairing Lingotto Investment Management. Osborne also previously served as editor of the London Evening Standard and was chancellor during David Cameron’s government, with notable ties to Beijing during that period.
HSBC, with a market capitalization of around £189 billion, is the second-largest company on the FTSE-100. The bank has been undergoing restructuring under CEO Georges Elhedery, and its stock value has increased by about 50% over the past year.
