The former chief executive of a major Swedish investment bank has been appointed to the key role of chairman of the Dundee-based Alliance Trust.
Karin Forseke is set to succeed Lesley Knox, who has led the FTSE 250 quoted business Britain’s biggest generalist investment trust, with managed assets in excess of £2.7bn since 2004.
The appointment comes after a global recruitment process which has taken several months to complete following the announcement in May last year that Ms Knox was due to step down ahead of the company’s 2012 general meeting.
Ms Knox, who will retire on April 2 after a month-long handover period, said her successor has the attributes to lead the Alliance Trust to a prosperous future.
She said: ”I am delighted to welcome Karin Forseke as the next chairman of Alliance Trust. She has extensive experience of financial services and this, alongside her international perspective, will be invaluable as we continue to invest across the globe in order to seek value for our shareholders.”
Ms Forseke will join the Alliance board in March and assume her full responsibilities as chairman on April 2. She is currently deputy chair and senior independent director at the Financial Services Authority in London and is a non-executive director of Wallenius Lines, a privately-owned shipping company.
Ms Forseke is also a board member of the European Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, and a non-executive director of the Royal Opera in Stockholm.
One of her highest-profile roles was as chief executive of Swedish-based investment bank D. Carnegie & Co AB, which she held between 2003 and 2006.
Ms Knox who was raised in Edinburgh took over the reins from Bruce Johnston in 2004. She has led the company through a series of milestones including the merger of the Alliance Trust and the Second Alliance Trust in 2006 to form the basis of the current business.
The company launched a new asset management business with a focus on opportunities in Asia in the same year, and expanded further in 2007 with the launch of a new online dealing service. In February 2008 the trust celebrated its 120th anniversary by joining Britain’s major blue-chip companies as a member of the FTSE 100 index, and it is currently the largest investment trust in the UK.
Ms Knox also oversaw the move from the trust’s long-time home in Reform Street to new £12.5m purpose-built headquarters on West Marketgait.
However, her tenure has not been without difficulty. The trust suffered during the height of the recession in 2008/09 when its managed investment portfolio experienced major losses and the company was forced to shed around a tenth of its workforce.
Ms Knox and the board also came under pressure at the 2011 general meeting after a rebel shareholder group tried to make the trust introduce a formal discount control mechanism that would force Alliance to buy back its own shares when the discount the difference between the share price and asset value went above 10%.
The move was defeated but Alliance have spent millions in a rolling programme of buybacks to narrow the discount.
Despite her role with the Alliance Trust coming to an end, Ms Knox will continue to have a major influence in the area as the chairman of Design Dundee Ltd, the firm which has been set up to drive forward the landmark £45m V&A museum project at Craig Harbour on the Tay.