AMP has announced this morning that Mr De Ferrari will take over from Mike Wilkins, who had been acting as interim CEO since April.
Prior to joining AMP, Mr De Ferrari spent 17 years at Credit Suisse where he served as chief executive, South East Asia and frontier markets, as well as heading up private banking in Asia-Pacific.
The appointment means Mr Wilkins will work with Mr Ferrari during the handover period and return to the board as a non-executive director.
AMP chairman David Murray said Mr De Ferrari was an “outstanding leader with a strong track record in international wealth management and extensive experience in redesigning business models to drive turnaround and growth”.
The AMP board had conducted “an extensive global search” in order to find a suitable leader, Mr Murray said.
“Francesco is a proven change agent who will bring the strategic acumen and expertise to spearhead the transformation needed in our business.”
The AMP chairman added that Mr De Ferrari had established “a culture that balanced the interests of clients, shareholders and all other stakeholders” during his time at Credit Suisse.
“His experience of transforming and driving growth in businesses in Asia and Europe will be invaluable as he addresses the significant challenges facing both our business and the wider financial services sector in Australia.
“We have designed a remuneration structure to drive the recovery of AMP and recognise the degree of challenge in the task ahead.
“His remuneration and incentives are directly aligned with the interests of shareholders. With his track record of commitment to clients and business performance, I have no doubt Francesco is the right person to lead the recovery of AMP and set the strategy for future growth.”
Commenting on his own appointment, Mr De Francesco described AMP as an “iconic Australian company with strong, market-leading positions in wealth management, insurance and asset management” and said he felt privileged to be selected to the role.
“Throughout its history, AMP has been driven by a strong sense of purpose, helping customers plan for tomorrow and supporting them through the critical moments of their lives.”
He also noted that 2018 had “clearly been a challenging year for the business”.
“I’m confident we can earn back trust which will underpin the recovery of business performance.
“I’m encouraged by the process of change already initiated by the board, and I’m committed to accelerating this change, while maximising the opportunities we have both in Australia and internationally.
“I am excited by the opportunity and am looking forward to working with board and the team at AMP to restore the company to a position of strength and drive its future growth.”
Mr De Ferrari will serve as an executive director to the AMP Limited board when it has its first meeting in January 2019.
