HSBC Holdings plc today provided an update on succession for a key subsidiary board role.

Dame Clara Furse will retire as non-executive Chair of HSBC UK Bank plc in 1H26 after serving nine years.

In line with HSBC Board’s succession planning activity, Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, currently Chair of the HSBC Group Remuneration Committee, will assume the role of non-executive Chair of HSBC UK Bank plc by the end of 1H26, subject to regulatory approval. Dame Carolyn’s proposed appointment follows a robust succession process which considered both internal and external candidates.

Dame Carolyn brings deep experience of the UK commercial and business environment and as well as the role of UK businesses in an international context. She will remain an independent non-executive Director of HSBC Holdings plc and Chair of the Group Remuneration Committee.

Brendan Nelson, Group Chairman, will step down as an independent non-executive Director of HSBC UK Bank plc, effective from Dame Carolyn’s appointment to the HSBC UK board.

Group Chairman, Brendan Nelson said:

“I would like to thank Dame Clara for her dedication, commitment and the significant contribution she has made to HSBC during her time as Chair of HSBC UK. I believe that Dame Carolyn’s deep understanding of the UK business and regulatory landscape will be invaluable in the next phase of delivery of HSBC UK Bank’s growth strategy and as we deliver for our investors, customers, communities and employees.”

Dame Carolyn Fairbairn was appointed to the HSBC Board on 1 September 2021.

Dame Carolyn served as the Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry from 2015 to 2020. She has extensive FTSE board experience, having previously served as non-executive Director of Lloyds Banking Group plc, The Vitec Group plc, Capita plc, and BAE Systems plc. She has also previously served as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Royal Mencap Society, and as a non-executive Director of the UK Competition and Markets Authority and the Financial Services Authority.

Prior to this, Dame Carolyn held senior executive positions at the BBC and ITV, and was a partner at McKinsey & Co with responsibility for its UK media practice. She was also a member of Prime Minister John Major’s Number 10 Policy Unit from 1995 to 1997. An economist by training, she began her career at the World Bank and the Economist magazine.

Dame Carolyn currently serves as a non-executive Director of Tesco plc and as a member of the Advisory Council of Frontier Economics. She is also an honorary fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. She holds a BA in Economics from Cambridge University, an MA in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA with distinction from INSEAD.