Friends Provident FD Jim Smart is to lead a crunch review of the company in the wake of the resignation of chief executive Philip Moore.
Smart will work with chairman Sir Adrian Montague to spearhead the study of the group's strategic options, Friends revealed today.
The move follows the effective collapse of Friends' deal to merge with Resolution. The shares rose this morning on talk of a bid.
The FTSE 100 company announced that Moore had stepped down, adding that the board had pushed for change at the top.
Executive chairman Sir Adrian Montague said: 'This has been a challenging year for the group and its management team. We remain confident of the group's prospects. However, it is right that we should take a hard look at the group's strategy to ensure that we are delivering the highest value available to our shareholders.The Board has concluded that this requires a change in the management team.'
Moore had previously been FD at Friends before taking the chief exec's post.
Friends added: 'The board intends to update shareholders on the strategic review by the time of the fourth quarter new business results at the end of January.'
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