Standard Chartered chairman Jose Vinals' search for a successor to chief executive Bill Winters has made a turning point after the bank reportedly found an «heir apparent».
Investment banking head Simon Cooper is viewed as the front runner for the job, according to a «Financial Times» report citing unnamed sources who called him the «heir apparent» following strong performance from his advisory and trading units last year during the pandemic.
Benjamin Hung Pi-cheng, Greater China and North Asia CEO as well as retail banking and wealth management CEO, was also named as a candidate for succession.
Internal talent aside, Standard Chartered chairman Vinals is also reportedly considering external candidates via a broad «market-mapping» exercise.
Simon Cooper
An ex-J.P. Morgan banker, Cooper joined the bank from British rival HSBC as the CEO of its corporate and institutional banking division in 2016. And in his first three years, he rose to prominence by winning over investors through repairing the balance sheet and overhauling lending culture.
He also assumed additional responsibility for the commercial banking unit in 2018.
In addition, there are also internal discussions to make Cooper the deputy CEO and relocate him from Singapore back to headquarters in London.
