Harvey swaps PZ Cussons boardroom for Pacific retirement

Consumer products group PZ Cussons was losing its non-executive chairman to the allure of antipodes on Tuesday, with Richard Harvey announcing his intention to step down on 31 December and retire to New Zealand.

The FTSE 250 firm said it has begun the process of identifying a successor, and will update the market later in the year.

"On behalf of my colleagues on the board and across the whole business, I would like to thank Richard for the very significant contribution which he has made since his appointment in 2010,” said PZ Cussons CEO Alex Kanellis.

“His support, enthusiasm and wise counsel have been tremendously valuable over that time.

“We look forward to continuing to work with him until his retirement in December and to announcing his successor in due course,” Kanellis explained.

Harvey was also retiring as a non-executive director at insurance and employee benefits group Jardine Lloyd Thompson, where he has been since December 2009.

It was one of a number of high-level changes announced at JLT on Tuesday, including the appointment of Bruce Carnegie-Brown as a non-executive director, and the retirement of James Twining as group commercial director.

Michael Rice, CEO of JLT’s US Specialty division, and William Nabarro were also announced to be joining the group executive committee on 1 May.