The company confirmed it had gained the regulatory green light to appoint as its new chief executive, as he started in the role on Tuesday.
Mr Bird has replaced Keith Skeoch, after five years as group CEO and 14 years as a director. He had led the merger between Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management in 2017.
Mr Skeoch is set to serve out the remainder of his contract as chair of Aberdeen Standard Investments Research Institute.
His predecessor, Mr Bird, most recently served as CEO of global consumer banking at Citigroup, from 2015 until he resigned in November last year.
Prior to that, he had been CEO for all of Citi’s APAC business lines across 17 markets in the region, including Australia, India and China. Mr Bird was with Citi for 21 years, holding various leadership roles across its Asian and Latin American businesses.
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) chair Douglas Flint said Mr Bird will be well placed to build on the company’s foundations, with his past experience in leading businesses through periods of major change.
“The transition from Keith Skeoch was always going to be a challenge to deliver, given the incredible scale and range of his contributions to the success of the company over many years,” Mr Flint said.
“I am however extremely pleased to say we have found a truly worthy successor.”
Mr Bird added he was excited to be joining the group.
“The current crisis has highlighted the importance of active asset management as well as building greater resilience into personal financial planning,” he said.
“SLA’s leading asset management, platforms and wealth capabilities give great scope to help clients and customers navigate these challenges; this is what attracted me to the company.”
