Troubleshooter leaves the Rock

Aug 28 2008 by Karen Dent, The Journal

NORTHERN Rock board member Stephen Hester is stepping down from his role with the nationalised bank.

Mr Hester will quit as non-executive deputy chairman on October 1, a position he took up when the troubled lender passed into public ownership in March.

He is the former finance director of Abbey, where he earned a reputation for helping transform troubled banks.

Mr Hester’s departure will be effective on the same day Gary Hoffman takes over as the Rock’s chief executive and Ron Sandler switches from his executive chairman role to become non-executive chairman.

Mr Sandler said: “We are grateful to Stephen for his substantial contribution to the board in the vital initial phase of public ownership. We have accomplished the key stages of adopting a restructuring plan, advancing its implementation, recruiting new management and board members and ensuring that the company’s capitalisation is put on a firm footing.

“Most importantly, repayment of Government debt is progressing ahead of schedule. Gary Hoffman’s arrival as CEO will allow me to revert to a more conventional, non-executive chairman role giving Stephen the opportunity to step down from the board and focus on other business interests.”

The bank lost £585.4m in the first six months of this year, after making a profit of almost £300m in the same period last year, It plans to shed 1,300 jobs, including 800 through compulsory redundancies.