• Iain Black is Chief Operating Officer, Distribution
• Patrick Gale is Chairman, Distribution Board

AEGON has today announced two key appointments in its Distribution business, which comprises its two independent financial adviser businesses, Origen and Positive Solutions.

Iain Black has been appointed Chief Operating Officer, Distribution. In this new role, reporting to AEGON UK Chief Executive Otto Thoresen, Iain will work closely with Origen managing director Stephen Greenstreet and Positive Solutions chief executive Jim Reeve in ensuring strong operational performance and effective resourcing in both businesses as they deliver their agreed strategy.

Iain has previously led a number of key business development projects within the AEGON UK group, including the launch and development of its Dublin business, and subsequently two years as Operations Director of AEGON Ireland. Most recently he was managing director of AEGON’s group risk business.

Patrick Gale has been appointed Chairman of the Distribution Board, the non-executive board which oversees AEGON’s distribution businesses. Patrick has considerable direct experience of the adviser market having been Chief Executive of Sesame Group from 2000-2007.

The appointments follow the announcement last week that AEGON UK chief executive Otto Thoresen has restructured the AEGON UK business, creating two separate management boards – one for the life and pensions business and the other for the distribution business, each with a Chief Operating Officer responsible for the operational delivery of strategy in each business. Last week, Adrian Grace was confirmed as Chief Operating Officer, Life and Pensions.

AEGON UK chief executive Otto Thoresen says:

‘The Retail Distribution Review brings challenges for our adviser businesses and it is essential that we push through the same focus on delivery against strategy in Origen and Positive Solutions, as we do in our Life and Pensions business.

‘Iain Black is an accomplished leader of business change and organisational development, with an impressive track record of strategy delivery across different areas of our business. Patrick Gale brings a wealth of valuable experience and insight from inside the adviser community to the non-executive chairman role.

‘Both Origen and Positive Solutions have made good progress over the last 12 months and I know that with Iain and Patrick working together with Stephen Greenstreet and Jim Reeve, we will achieve success for our adviser businesses.’

For further information

Lesley McPherson
Head of Media Relations, AEGON UK
T. 0131 549 3782 | M. 07740 897541

Notes to editors

• Iain Black joined AEGON in 1990 and has held a number of key management and business development roles. These have included two years as Operations Director at AEGON Ireland where he led the launch and development of that business, and most recently three years as managing director of AEGON’s group risk business.
• Patrick Gale is best known in the financial adviser industry for his time as Chief Executive of leading adviser group Sesame (October 2000 to December 2007). He began his career at Bank of America before moving to Misys banking software group, and subsequently to Sesame.
• In the UK AEGON offers pensions, life insurance, asset management and financial advice to around 2 million customers and employs over 4,900 staff.
• AEGON is one of the world’s leading insurance groups with approximately 28,000 employees worldwide and 40 million customers in the Americas, Europe and Asia. AEGON's revenue-generating assets totalled €361 billion at December 31, 2009.