UK – The National Association of Pension Funds’ corporate governance venture says it has “several concerns” about governance at consulting and insurance firm Jardine Lloyd Thompson.

“We have several concerns with the current corporate governance arrangements at Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group, relating primarily to the composition of the board,” said RREV, Research, Recommendations and Electronic Voting.

RREV is a joint venture between the NAPF and US-based Institutional Shareholder Services. It was formed in 2003 to offer corporate governance and electronic voting services for investment managers and pension funds.

It is concerned that Ken Carter assumed the roles of both chairman and chief executive for two years after the resignation of Steve Gill in November.

It said: “No explanation has been provided as to why the recruitment process will take two years and we encourage the company to bring forward the expected appointment of the chief executive, albeit recognising that the company will want time to recruit a suitable candidate.”

And it said the board is “well short” of the Combined Code’s recommendations on board balance.

A JLT spokesperson said: "We are fully aware of the areas of non-compliance with the Combined Code in respect of our board compliance and highlighted this both in the chairman's statement and in the directors' report in our compliance statement in our annual report.

“We are taking active steps to recruit independent non-executive directors and will advise the market as soon as an appointment is confirmed.”

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