Legal & General Group plc (L&G) has appointed Scott Wheway as its next chair.
Wheway will join the board as an independent non-executive director and chair designate on 2nd January 2026, and will take over from Sir John Kingman after the annual general meeting (AGM) on 21st May 2026.
Kingman will step down as chair and director after nine years in the role.
Wheway, currently chair of Scottish Widows Group and non-executive director at Lloyds Banking Group plc, has held previous senior roles including chair of Centrica plc, chair of AXA UK plc and Aviva Insurance Limited, and senior independent director of Santander UK plc.
Before his non-executive career, Wheway spent over 25 years in the retail sector in the UK and internationally, including CEO of Best Buy Europe, managing director of Boots the Chemist plc, and senior executive roles at Tesco plc.
Wheway 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.”
Kingman 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.”
Henrietta Baldock, senior independent director at L&G, 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.”
Baldock added: “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.”
António Simões, group CEO at L&G, 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.”
