Ex Aegon UK chief Grace joins 7IM as chairman

Former Aegon UK boss Adrian Grace has joined 7IM as its new chairman.

Grace spent ten years as Aegon’s UK chief before retiring earlier this year. He will take over from Ian Owen, who is stepping down from 7IM’s board after nearly five years.

Grace’s experience working in Edinburgh for some 20 years will come to the fore given 7IM’s expansion in Scotland since acquiring TCAM in 2018, the firm says in a statement today.

Grace was also previously a non-executive director at Virgin Money after working across banks including HBOS and Barclays earlier in his career.

7IM chief executive Dean Proctor says: “I am hugely excited to welcome Adrian and have someone of his calibre and know-how join the board. He brings with him vast industry experience, in particular his track record of bringing together and integrating technology and financial service solutions – something which I believe remains key to 7IM delivering on our vision to provide an unrivalled experience to our customers.”

Owen adds: “I am delighted to hand over to such an experienced successor.

“Adrian has my full support and I wish him all the success in the new role. I have enjoyed my term as chairman immensely and believe that with the leadership of Dean Proctor and Adrian Grace, 7IM has an incredibly bright future.”

Grace was key in spearheading digital growth at Aegon, as the number of customers in its digital solutions workplace business grew by 24 per cent over 2019.

Grace describes 7IM as a firm with a “strong track record of innovation and a focus on technology”.

He adds: “I look forward to working with Dean and the rest of the board to help continue to drive 7IM forward and in particular, helping to maintain its track record of innovation and customer-orientation.”