FNG Exclusive… FNG has learned that leading UK online broker IG Group (LON:IGG) has seen the departure of its longtime Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Heidrun Luyt (pictured above).

Heidrun Luyt has been with IG since 2015. Starting out as Head of Websites and Search, she was promoted to Head of Client Acquisition in 2016 and in 2018 to CMO. At IG she was responsible for a 19-country matrix of online and offline marketing and managing an in-house team of 260+ staff alongside external partners, and an annual budget of more than £90 million.

We understand that Heidrun Luyt has left IG to pursue another yet-undisclosed opportunity. An IG spokesperson told FNG:

Heidrun has been pivotal in driving forward our marketing function in recent years, and we thank her for her significant contribution.

And in a planned succession, we understand that IG has gone outside the company and hired Katherine Whitton as IG’s new CMO. She will also sit on IG’s Executive Committee. Katherine Whitton has significant financial services experience, having been the Chief Marketing Officer at Barclaycard. She has also held senior marketing positions at American Express, including Head of Consumer Card Product Management and Head of Advertising, Brand & Communications, UK, and at British Airways. Most recently she was CMO at Specsavers from 2018-2021. Specsavers is the world’s largest privately owned optical group.