Aviva chief executive to retire; Moss to take helm

Aviva has announced today that Richard Harvey has confirmed he is to retire as group chief executive on 11 July 2007, after almost a decade in a chief executive role.

Andrew Moss, currently Aviva's group finance director, is named as his successor.

Aviva also announced that Philip Scott, currently executive director, Aviva International, will become group finance director and Patrick Snowball, appointed executive director, Aviva UK, in January last year, will continue to be responsible for Norwich Union, RAC and Aviva's offshore services.

Lord Sharman of Redlynch, Aviva's chairman, said: “Richard Harvey is a class act by anyone's standards. His professionalism, skill, and foresight have made a lasting, positive contribution not only to Aviva but to the international insurance industry.

“When I became Aviva's chairman, Richard signalled to me that he may not want to stay until the normal retirement age of 60. This is characteristic of his openness, integrity, capacity for thinking well-ahead and innate desire to do what is right.

"I respect his wish to apply his many and varied talents to other ventures, all of which will undoubtedly benefit from his visionary insight and strong leadership.

“I am delighted that Andrew Moss has agreed to succeed Richard as Aviva's group chief executive. He has extensive knowledge of the insurance sector and an excellent track record in the international financial services industry.

"I am looking forward to working with him as he leads Aviva through the next phase of its growth.”

Commenting today, Richard Harvey said: “I am proud of having helped to create in Aviva a business that has scale, presence and identity in more than 25 markets across the world.

“Now is the right time for me to set out on my next adventure,” he added, “while I have the energy and desire to make a difference. Having built a management team at Aviva which has real strength and depth I know that I will leave the company in expert hands.”

Andrew Moss said: “I am very excited at the prospect of leading Aviva through the next stage in its development. Aviva is a high quality and distinctive company which is earning a reputation for excellence in the global marketplace.

"I am looking forward to working with our strong, dedicated and talented management team as we build on our worldwide platform and identify new opportunities for growth.”