Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) has announced that it has appointed Scott Wheway to succeed Sir John Kingman as Chair of the Company. It is intended that Scott will join L&G’s Board on 2 January 2026 as an independent Non-Executive Director and Chair Designate and will take over as Chair with effect from the conclusion of the Company’s Annual General Meeting on 21 May 2026. At that point, Sir John Kingman will step down as Chair and as a Director of the Board, after nine years of service.
Scott is currently Chair of Scottish Widows Group and a Non-Executive Director at Lloyds Banking Group Plc1. He brings a wealth of executive and non-executive leadership experience in financial services and retail businesses, including a strong understanding of operating within highly regulated, customer-facing industries. He served as Chair of Centrica plc between 2020 and 2024, having been a non-executive director since 2016. Prior to this, he was Chair of AXA UK plc and Aviva Insurance Limited, Senior Independent Director of Santander UK plc, and a Non-Executive Director of Aviva plc.
Before his non-executive career, Scott was an executive in the retail sector for over 25 years, both in the UK and internationally, where he held positions including CEO of Best Buy Europe, Managing Director of Boots the Chemist plc, and a number of senior executive positions at Tesco plc, including CEO, Japan.
Sir John Kingman has had a highly successful tenure at L&G with key achievements including steering the Company through the Covid-19 pandemic, the expansion of the Company’s position in international markets, led by growth in pension risk transfer and asset management, and the appointment of António Simões as Group Chief Executive in 2023. During John’s tenure, L&G won Britain’s Most Admired Company in two consecutive years in 2024 and 2025, ranking top among FTSE listed companies in the UK.
Henrietta Baldock, Senior Independent Director, who led the Chair succession process on behalf of the Board said: “After a rigorous, comprehensive and global search, I am delighted to welcome Scott to the Board. As well as being a great fit for L&G’s culture and values, Scott brings an impressive track record of commercial success in both executive and non-executive roles across a range of industries, including in markets that are central to our growth strategy. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank John for his outstanding leadership and dedicated service to L&G. His wise counsel and stewardship of the Company over the last nine years have been invaluable and I look forward to continuing to benefit from his leadership over the coming months.”
Scott Wheway, L&G Chair designate, said: “It is an honour to be appointed as Chair designate of L&G, one the UK’s most eminent and consequential companies. I look forward to working with the L&G Board, António and his wider leadership team, to accelerate the delivery of the Group’s strategy and further enhance the value L&G generates for all of its stakeholders.”
António Simões, Group Chief Executive Officer said: “I am delighted to welcome Scott to the Board. His focus on customers, operational expertise, and experience leading growth businesses is well-aligned to our priorities, and I am also looking forward to drawing on his broad financial services insight to drive further progress and momentum on our strategy. I’d also like to thank John for the support he has given me over the last two years – I have no doubt he will continue to bring as much energy as ever to the role before standing down in May.”
Sir John Kingman, Chair of Legal & General, said: “Scott is an outstanding choice to be the future Chair of L&G. I look forward to working with him as a member of the Board from January and assisting in his transition to Chair over the months that follow.”
There are no other matters that require disclosure under 6.4.8R of the UK Listing Rules.
Notes to editors
1 Scott Wheway will stand down from his positions at Scottish Widows Group and Lloyds Banking Group plc with effect from 31 October 2025.
