Top job at Challenger split amid board reshuffle…

Challenger Internationalhas made changes to its board structure in the wake of criticism of its corporate governance practices with the roles of chair and managing director, previously both held by Bill Ireland, being split for the first time.

The new chairman will be Gil Hoskins who is a long-serving member of the Challenger board, according to a Challenger spokesperson. Hoskins was also chairman of Wealthpoint until March 2001.

Last week, Ireland, responding to questions about Challenger’s corporate governance practices, said the group would bring in an independent chairman “to reflect current market attitudes towards corporate governance and board control”.

Bill Ireland will continue on as managing director, while non-executive director Jim Service, who has expertise in property, will move into the deputy chairman role.

Challenger says other executive directors on the board other than Ireland will leave the board to be replaced by non-executive directors.

It is understood the executives will take seats on a new executive board which Challenger says will be composed of senior executives.

The executive board will concentrate on operations while the main board will concentrate on strategy, corporate governance and broad control issues.

Last month, the Challenger board was forced to drop the value of the property assets in its portfolio after its auditor sought an independent valuation of the properties, sparking criticism of the group’s corporate governance practices.