Serco chief executive Rupert Soames will have more time to enjoy his West Highland holiday home after he heads into retirement next year.
Mr Soames is a grandson of former prime minister Sir Winston Churchill.
He will have led FTSE 250-listed Serco for nine years by the time he retires.
Shares in the outsourcing giant, whose activities include running NorthLink Ferries and Caledonian Sleeper trains, sank nearly 6.8% to £1.68 following this morning’s statement from Serco saying Mr Soames will step down from both the CEO’s role and the board at the end of this year.
He will be 64 when he finally says farewell to the company and heads off into retirement in September 2023.
From January 1 2023 until the expiration of his notice period he will remain as a strategic adviser to the group and a member of Serco North America’s board.
It has been the privilege of my working life to lead Serco for the last eight years, but it is now time for me to outsource myself.”
Rupert Soames, outgoing CEO of Serco.
Mr Soames found himself at the heart of a controversy over his visit to Scotland in spring 2020, when he travelled from England to visit his 105-acre estate, Camusrory, near Mallaig, in the middle of a Covid-19 lockdown.
He claimed he was not breaking any rules because he was there to conduct “essential job interviews”.
Replacing him as CEO at Serco will be Mark Irwin, who currently heads up the group’s UK/Europe division.
Serco said it had chosen its next boss after a “rigorous selection process that involved both internal and external candidates”.
Chairman John Rishton added: “I am delighted to be able to announce Mark Irwin’s appointment as CEO designate of what is now a thriving and resilient business, following the successful turnaround led by Rupert Soames.
“Serco is unrecognisable from the business that he joined in 2014. Under his leadership, the business was stabilised, and a clear strategy developed and executed, which has resulted in the strong and successful business it is today. Rupert should be really proud of what he has achieved.”
Mr Soames said: “It has been the privilege of my working life to lead Serco for the last eight years, but it is now time for me to outsource myself.
“My respect and admiration for the wonderful team of people at Serco, who work so hard to deliver superb public services and value for money for taxpayers, is unbounded.”
Mr Soames, previously CEO of Scottish temporary power company Aggreko and guest speaker at the Scottish Council for Development and Industry’s annual lecture in Aberdeen in January 2020, has led Serco since May 2014.
His brother Sir Nicholas Soames, was a Conservative MP from 1983 until his retirement in 2019.
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