IG Group Holdings plc has announced that acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Howkins has relinquished his role and will be retiring, effective immediately, according to an IG Group statement.
Mr. Howkins’ decision was formally announced at IG Group’s recent annual general meeting today, snapping a lengthy stint as its CEO. Filling the void in an interim role will be Peter Hetherington, a member of IG Group’s board since 2002. Previously, Mr. Hetherington had served as IG Group’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) and will step into the new interim position until a permanent candidate can be found.
Upon joining IG Group’s board in 2002, Mr. Hetherington helped run IG Group’s IT business as the company expanded over the years. In this capacity, he also focused on managing more of IG Group’s operations, including the areas of risk, client services, sales and Marketing .
According to Mr. Howkins in a recent statement on the retirement: “After 16 years at IG, seven as CFO and nine as CEO, I will feel a mixture of pride, sadness and excitement. Pride in the 16 years I’ve spent here and the growth the company has experienced in my time, with revenue rising from £12 million to an underlying £400 million.”
“Sadness, as it has been a great place to work and I’ve made a lot of good friends over the years and lastly, excitement at the next stage of my life and the new adventures ahead. I leave the company in great shape with an extremely talented senior management team and a number of exciting initiatives in the pipeline over the coming years,” he added.
The retirement and subsequent CEO appointment is the first major move at IG Group since August when the firm appointed David Horsley as its Head of Finance. Since then, he has helped with the management of IG’s financial functions worldwide, including such channels as financial control, financial planning, analysis and tax reconciliation.
