Glen Moreno

Glen Moreno
Glen Moreno at Financial Times Summer Party 2011
Born (1943-07-24) 24 July 1943 (age 81)
California, United States
Alma materStanford University
University of Delhi
Harvard Law School

Glen Richard Moreno (born 24 July 1943)[1] is an American businessman. Moreno has worked for several large companies in the United States and the United Kingdom, and worked as acting-chairman of UK Financial Investments Limited which manages the British government's bank shareholdings. He has been Chairman of Virgin Money UK since May 2015.[2]

Early life

Glen Moreno was born in California in 1943.[3] He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University in 1965 and was a Rotary Foundation Fellow at the University of Delhi in 1966.[3] He achieved a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1969.[3]

Career

Moreno worked for 18 years at Citigroup in Europe and Asia, running the investment banking and trading divisions and becoming a group executive.[3][4] Moreno is a director of Fidelity International, chairing its audit committee, and was their chief executive from 1987 to 1991.[3] He is said to be largely responsible for the rapid growth of Fidelity during that period.[5]

In October 2005 Moreno was appointed as Lord Stevenson's replacement as chairman of Pearson PLC, after a 5-month search.[3][6] The shortlist included Charles Gibson Smith, the chairman of the London Stock Exchange.[6] Moreno's appointment came as something of a surprise to the business world as he was not widely known in the United Kingdom and he was described by The Guardian as an "unknown quantity".[4][6] His salary at Pearson was £425,000 per year.[4] Moreno is also a senior independent director of Man Group plc, having been a non-executive director there since 1994, and persuaded the group to co-sponsor the Man Booker Prize for literature.[3][6] He is also a governor of the Ditchley Foundation and a director of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.[3]

Moreno was appointed a non-executive director of UK Financial Investments Limited (UKFI), a company established by the British government to manage its shareholding in nationalised (and part-nationalised) banks.[7] He became the acting chairman of the company when Sir Philip Hampton became chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland.[7] During this time Moreno stated that "at no point have I sought the role [of chairman] on a permanent basis".[7] He quit as acting chairman on 11 February 2009 after HM Treasury said that it would appoint a new permanent chairman.[8]

Moreno's period as chairman of UKFI was controversial because until April 2008 he had been a trustee of the Liechtenstein Global Trust (LGT), a private banking and investment group that has been at the centre of an international investigation into alleged tax evasion.[9][10] Moreno had been appointed as a trustee of LGT in 1999, at the same time joining the parent body Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation.[10] Moreno sat on the LGT's development and compensation committee, which determined executive pay, and advised on investment strategy and policy.[10] Moreno was remunerated with a salary of Swiss Fr130,000 (£76,000) per year.[10] He has stated that he had no knowledge of the individual LGT clients.[10] Moreno's continued employment at the head of UKFI was criticised by the Conservative Party due to his links with LGT.[9] Further controversy erupted over Fidelity International's donations to the Conservative Party which have amounted to £495,000 since 1994.[9]

He was appointed as senior independent director of Lloyds Banking Group in February 2010, and Deputy Chairman of the Financial Reporting Council in November 2010.[11]

Personal life

Moreno's wife, sister, mother, and niece are all teachers and he splits his time between his London home and a cattle farm in Virginia, United States.[6][9]

References

  1. ^ https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/03087587/filing-history (see page 13 of 09 Sep 2015 entry)
  2. ^ Keighley, Tom (2015-05-21). "Glen Moreno takes up chairman seat at Virgin Money". journallive. Archived from the original on 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Glen Moreno". University of the West of England. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
  4. ^ a b c Milmo, Dan (30 July 2005). "Pearson puts Fidelity man in the chair". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
  5. ^ Sturcke, James (13 February 2009). "Glen Moreno: Financier who changed sides". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
  6. ^ a b c d e Kane, Frank (31 July 2005). "Pearson gets its man, but who is he?". The Observer. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
  7. ^ a b c Treanor, Jill (12 February 2009). "Another banker leaves government post". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
  8. ^ Porter, Andrew (13 February 2009). "Gordon Brown loses second banking advisor as Glen Moreno quits". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
  9. ^ a b c d Judge, Elizabeth (11 February 2009). "Business big shot: Glen Moreno". The Times. Archived from the original on July 1, 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
  10. ^ a b c d e Oliver, Jonathon (8 February 2009). "Gordon Brown's bank boss Glen Moreno had links to tax cheats". The Times. Archived from the original on June 2, 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
  11. ^ FRC Board Archived June 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Financial Reporting Council. Retrieved 28 April 2011.