Hetherington exits as IG Group CEO
IG Group (IG) has today (Thursday) confirmed that Peter Hetherington is to step down as CEO with immediate effect.
Paul Mainwaring, who is currently chief financial officer at IG, will take on the additional role of interim CEO while the firm seeks a permanent replacement. Hetherington, who joined the company as a graduate in 1994 has held the CEO role since 2015, will assist with the transition to his successor until the end of the financial year.
IG said it is seeking a new CEO with “wide global experience of the broader financial sector”, with the ability to develop the business using its “technology platform, geographic presence and product innovation as a base”.
The company descibed Hetherington as “instrumental” in leading the firm through a period of “significant regulatory uncertainty”.
Since Hetherington joined in 1994, IG has grown from a company employing less than 25 people with revenue of £16m (€17.9m/$21m), to a business that now has over 1,700 employees and revenue in excess of £550m. Earnings per share also increased 65% during his three years as CEO.
Hetherington said: “There is a great deal of change underway in the retail trading industry and I have every confidence that this team will continue to drive the business forward successfully in the future.”
IGG chairman Andy Green added: “Peter has been pivotal to the success of IG during his many years of service, particularly during the last three years during which he has successfully steered the company through an unprecedented period of regulatory uncertainty whilst delivering strong earnings and profits growth.
“I particularly commend Peter for his strong ethical leadership of IG and his management of its recent performance.
“The company will continue to focus on the delivery of its immediate priorities that Peter has set which the board believes are successfully positioning IG for its next stage of development.”
Hetherington’s departure comes after IG earlier this month cited new regulations from the European Securities and Markets Authority as the main reason behind a drop in revenue during the first quarter of the fiscal year. IG also said it was impacted by lower levels of market volatility and highlighted that the corresponding three-month period of the previous year had been a record quarter.
This came after Green in August praised IG’s progress in the 2018 financial year, saying it was able to overcome “ongoing regulatory uncertainty” to post year-on-year growth.