The Boardroom Brigadoon Bromance
You don’t often get moments like this in corporate life anymore—ones that feel genuinely thoughtful, quietly powerful, and remind you why good governance still counts. But that’s exactly what played out at Aberdeen’s latest AGM.
Jonathan Asquith, the Senior Independent Director, stepped up to the mic to confirm something we knew was coming: Sir Douglas Flint is preparing to step down as Chair. But this wasn’t just a routine update—it was a pitch-perfect tribute. Calm, sincere, and spot-on in tone.
He opened with a simple line: “It falls to me to organise the process for finding a successor for Douglas. Not an easy pair of shoes to fill.” Understated, but it said everything.
Rather than painting this as an ending, Asquith framed it as a strategic move—true to the kind of long-game thinking Aberdeen values. Flint, who’s led since 2019, still has a couple of years before hitting the UK’s recommended limit for Chairs. But by announcing now, he’s giving the board space to plan carefully—and giving new CEO Jason Windsor the chance to build a solid partnership with whoever comes next.
And he’s not vanishing overnight. In true Flint fashion, there’s no dramatic exit. He’ll stick around for a smooth handover, offering stability without ego. It’s exactly the kind of leadership that’s helped Aberdeen reset its board, sharpen its focus, and steady its course.
But the standout moment? Asquith listing what they’re looking for in their next Chair: someone smart but humble, emotionally intelligent, grounded, and passionate about the company. In other words—someone who leads the way Flint has.
It was a reminder that real leadership doesn’t need to shout. And that even in today’s fast-moving corporate world, moments of quiet integrity still land the loudest.
This was a speech that reminded us what dignified succession looks like. It was not about headlines or egos. It was about stewardship. It was about legacy.
And it was, perhaps most poignantly, a moment to be proud of British governance done well.
Profiles in Leadership
Jonathan Asquith
Senior Independent Director, Aberdeen
A seasoned financial executive and director, Jonathan Asquith previously served as Deputy Chair of 3i Group and as Chairman of Citigroup Global Markets Limited. He also held executive positions at Schroders and Morgan Grenfell. Cambridge-educated and legally trained, Asquith is widely respected for his thoughtful judgment and understated effectiveness.
Sir Douglas Flint CBE
Chairman, Aberdeen (2019–present)
With a storied career including roles as Group Chairman of HSBC and board member of BP, Sir Douglas Flint has been a pillar of UK financial leadership. Knighted in 2018, he is known for his steady hand through financial crises and major industry transitions.
Jason Windsor
CEO, Aberdeen (appointed 2024)
Jason Windsor was previously Group CFO at Aviva and CFO at Persimmon. He began his career at Morgan Stanley in M&A advisory and is recognised for his modern leadership approach and focus on building trust with investors and stakeholders alike.
Appendix: Full Transcript of Speech by Jonathan Asquith (Senior Independent Director, Aberdeen)
It falls to me to organise the process for finding a successor for Douglas. Not an easy pair of shoes to fill. It was with great regret that your board accepted Douglas Flint's intention to stand down as Chair of Aberdeen, as we announced earlier on this year at the time of our annual results. Most of us on the board joined it during his tenure, and we've all enjoyed the blend of openness, charm, knowledge, and experience that he's brought to the role over the last nearly seven years.
And since the announcement was made, many people have asked me, why now? Well, all of you are investors, and we're all investors, and in the investment world, we know that much of the public focus is on which stocks to buy, what's going up. But importantly, we also know that the most successful investing institutions spend at least as much time focusing on when to exit a position.
And in calling time on his tenure at Aberdeen, Douglas has applied the same rigour that he's brought to the rest of his stewardship as Chairman. As he sees it, a Chief Executive is most effective when he can build a long-term partnership with his Chairman. With a maximum of two years more to serve, respecting the corporate governance rules in this country, Douglas felt that it was now the time to signal his departure, to allow the selection process for a new Chair to partner with Jason over the coming years to take place as soon as possible.
With typical generosity, he's set no defined end date to his commitment to Aberdeen, and even more so as a shareholder, I gather, allowing us to take as long as we need to recruit his successor and get him into post. In the interim, his enthusiasm for the company and its activities remains, as you can see, undiminished, and his leadership of the Board unchanged.
The selection process for that successor is underway. If I compare the process that we're using this time round to the one that was employed for his own recruitment back in 2018, what stands out is that the structure and balance of the company, with its tighter focus on wealth and investments, and probably a tighter focus on the UK, has changed substantially. But the attributes that we're looking for in a good Chairman, which Douglas has exemplified, have remained unchanged.
We're looking for enthusiasm for the company and a commitment to its mission and its strategy, a good mind, balanced by a low ego, and an openness to new thinking and the views of others. We're looking for the intelligence, which Douglas has demonstrated, both intellectual and emotional, to select, motivate and lead a Board where each individual, executive or non-executive, has something different and important to contribute.
We're looking for the grit and determination and courtesy to identify and confront challenges rather than ignore them. We're looking for the recognition that companies like Aberdeen have many stakeholders—clients, staff, suppliers, shareholders and the wider community—all of whom need to be considered and respected in taking decisions.
And, of course, we are looking for a passion for the company to succeed.
These attributes have helped carry us through the challenges that Douglas has confronted during his time as Chair. Covid, remember that? The war in Ukraine? The changing role of the US in the world order and, of course, underlying it all, the secular trends towards passive investment styles and private markets.
He will hand on to his successor a refreshed Board, a focused and a self-aware set of businesses, and a company which is united under its new Chief Executive. That is a legacy for which we should all be grateful. And we are. Douglas.
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