AJ Bell plc, one of the UK’s largest investment platforms, announces that Michael Summersgill will succeed Andy Bell as Chief Executive Officer on 1 October 2022, subject to regulatory approval. Andy Bell will remain on the AJ Bell Board and will assume the position of Non-executive Deputy Chair with effect from the same date.

Mr Summersgill has been with AJ Bell since 2007 and is currently Deputy Chief Executive Officer. He has also held the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) since 2011. As previously announced, he will be succeeded as CFO by Peter Birch on 1 July 2022.

Mr Summersgill’s appointment as CEO is in line with the Board’s long-established succession plan, having been identified as a potential successor to Andy Bell several years ago. He has held a range of executive responsibilities across the business and since joining the Board in 2011 has contributed significantly to the successful delivery of the Company’s growth strategy, as well as playing a key role in the Company’s successful listing on the Main Market in December 2018 and its life as a public company since IPO.

Andy Bell has been AJ Bell’s CEO since he co-founded the business in 1995. His appointment as Deputy Chair will ensure the Company continues to benefit from his deep experience of AJ Bell and the wider investment platform market. In his new role he will continue to be actively involved in evaluating future market developments and the opportunities they present to AJ Bell, as well as campaigning for fairness and simplicity for UK retail investors and financial advisers.

Andy Bell, Chief Executive Officer at AJ Bell, commented:

“It has been an honour to lead AJ Bell as CEO, both as a private company for many years and more recently as a publicly listed business. I would like to thank our people, past and present, for helping to grow AJ Bell into the business it is today. It has been a fantastic journey so far and I am as excited as ever about the prospects for the AJ Bell.

Michael Summersgill, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at AJ Bell, commented:

“It is a huge privilege to be take over the CEO role from Andy. We have built the Company into one of the largest investment platforms in the UK and I am incredibly excited by the growth opportunity ahead of us.

The foundations for us to deliver long-term growth in both the advised and D2C markets are firmly in place. My focus will be on continuing to evolve our platform propositions and service capabilities to meet the ever-changing needs of advisers and customers. I am confident we have the right team in place to meet those needs and remain at the forefront of the investment platform market.”