Ex-ICAS president Jim Pettigrew appointed chair of Scottish Financial Enterprise

FORMER ICAS president Jim Pettigrew has been appointed as the new chairman of the Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE). He will take over from Sir Ewan Brown CBE, who is retiring on 1 July.

Pettigrew is chairman of CYBG, owner of Clydesdale Bank. He has over 30 years’ experience as a chartered accountant and is immediate past president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS).

In April, ICAS named Ken McHattie as its new president.

He also serves as chairman and non-executive director of The Edinburgh Investment Trust, as well as senior independent non-executive director of Crest Nicholson Holdings and chairman of its remuneration committee, and deputy chairman and non-executive director of RBC Europe Limited.

Over the past 30 years Pettigrew has also served as non-executive director and chairman of the audit committee at Aberdeen Asset Management, group finance director of ICAP, chief executive officer of CMC Markets, chief operating officer of Ashmore Group and group treasurer of Sedgwick Group.

Retiring chairman Sir Ewan Brown said: “I am delighted to be handing over the reins of SFE to someone with the wealth of experience and talent which Jim has to offer. Jim has worked across a range of financial services sectors and the expertise he brings with him will be tremendously valuable to the work of SFE.

“It is a time of fast paced change in financial services and the landscape in which we are operating, both in Scotland and internationally, is constantly evolving. With this in mind, we have embarked on a number of new initiatives at SFE to bring together a shared strategic direction for the industry in Scotland and its part in society.

Commenting on his appointment, Jim Pettigrew said: “The financial services industry is hugely important to Scotland and I feel privileged to have this opportunity to play a part in supporting and promoting the industry.

“It is an exciting time to be joining SFE. I look forward to working with Graeme and SFE members to develop a shared vision which places the industry’s role in society and serving customers, firmly at its centre.”