HSBC appointed Alison Platt as an independent non-executive director with effect from 1 October 2026. She will immediately join the group remuneration, risk, and nomination and corporate governance committees. The board also selected her to succeed Dame Carolyn Fairbairn as chair of the remuneration committee, subject to regulatory approval.
Platt is due to assume the committee chair on 24 February 2027, one day after HSBC publishes its annual results. Fairbairn is moving to chair HSBC UK Bank and has led the group remuneration committee for four and a half years. Platt's election as a director will be put to shareholders at HSBC's 2027 annual general meeting.
BOARD EXPERIENCE SPANS MULTIPLE SECTORS
Platt spent 21 years at healthcare group Bupa, including senior positions across its international businesses, before serving for four years as chief executive of estate agency Countrywide. She currently chairs Ageas UK and is senior independent director at Inchcape. Her previous listed-company board experience includes Tesco and Hargreaves Lansdown.
Inchcape separately confirmed that its senior independent director would join the HSBC board from October. At HSBC, Platt will participate in committees overseeing executive pay, risk and board succession. The remuneration chair appointment remains conditional until the relevant regulator gives approval.
SUCCESSION LINKS GROUP AND UK BOARDS
The change connects two governance transitions within the HSBC group. Fairbairn's move to HSBC UK's chair created the planned vacancy at the group remuneration committee, while Platt joins the board in October, ahead of the planned February change. Group chairman Brendan Nelson said her "financial services expertise, strategic perspective and experience of remuneration and investor engagement will be valuable to the Board and will further strengthen the Group Remuneration Committee".
The immediate milestone is Platt's entry to the board and three committees on 1 October. Regulatory approval is then required before she can take the remuneration chair after the annual results. Shareholders will make the subsequent formal decision on her election at the 2027 annual meeting.