HSBC top shake-up: Douglas Flint takes over as new chairman

Following a dramatic showdown yesterday in the board room of global banking giant HSBC Holdings Plc, the bank has announced changes in its leadership team that will take forward HSBC as the world's leading international bank from the beginning of next year.

Douglas Flint, the bank's current finance director will succeed Stephen Green as Group chairman, while Stuart Gulliver, the head of investment banking will takeover as the new chief executive from Michael Geoghegan, who has decided to retire early next year, HSBC said in a statement.

The hunt for a successor to Green began earlier in May under the leadership of the company's senior independent director with the assistance of external advisors, as the Board wanted to approve the next leader before the end of the year.

Subsequently, a fortnight ago the HSBC said that Green would be stepping down as chairman, in order to take up the position of the country's minister of state for trade and investment in January 2011, following an invitation from the prime minister David Cameron.

''The nomination committee came to the unanimous conclusion that Douglas Flint was the best person - internally or externally - for the position, meeting all the core criteria and having led HSBC's regulatory engagement at Board level through 2010,'' the statement said.

Some observers consider Flint's appointment as chairman would go against corporate governance, as he is an insider and may lack independent and objective strategic vision, which is different from that of chief executive.