Chase de Vere’s chief executive officer Stephen Kavanagh is set to retire after a 12-year tenure.
Kavanagh will step down from the role on April 29 and take on the role as the company’s chairperson.
Chase de Vere said he has overseen a transformation of the business during his time, with the company having achieved “record profitability and turnover figures”.
Kavanagh said: “I am extremely proud of everything that Chase de Vere has achieved during my tenure as chief executive. I’ve also reached my own personal milestone recently, with my 60th birthday last month and, in light of this and, having had the great privilege of being able to achieve so many of my own professional ambitions, I feel that the time is now right for me to take a step back from the day-to-day running of the business.
“I am delighted to have been offered the opportunity to move into the role of chairperson, enabling me to continue to contribute to the company which I love and to which I’ve dedicated the last 25 years of my professional life. I will be assuming this role immediately on my retirement.”
Subject to regulatory approval, Kavanagh will be succeeded by Kathleen Gallagher, who joined Chase de Vere as a trainee financial adviser in August 2000.
Gallagher moved into her first management role in 2005 when she managed a team of IFAs based in the company’s London office.
She was promoted to regional manager for the South in 2014, where she was responsible for the company’s adviser teams in Basingstoke, Bath, Cambridge, Cardiff, Exeter and London.
In April 2020, Gallagher was promoted to the role of director of advisory services, responsible for the company’s client proposition and business development, and she was also appointed to Chase de Vere’s executive team.
Kavanagh added: “In looking for my successor as chief executive, it was incredibly important that we appointed somebody who shares my values, my passion and my commitment for Chase de Vere and for doing what is best for our clients and for our employees.
“I have worked really closely with Kathleen over the years and I know that she has all of the attributes to be an incredibly successful chief executive and to lead Chase de Vere forwards to even greater heights.”
Gallagher said: “I’ve had the privilege of working alongside some of the most talented and client-focused people in the industry over the course of my 22 years with Chase de Vere. It is therefore an immense honour to have been offered the role of chief executive.
“My key priority will be to build on Stephen’s achievements in ensuring that our advisers continue to have the best possible platform to deliver expert independent financial advice and a highly personalised service to our clients.”
sonia.rach@ft.com
