VIVA was left searching for a new finance director today when housebuilder Persimmon poached Jason Windsor from the giant insurer.
Eyebrows were raised in the City at Windsor’s departure from one of the giants of the UK financial scene to a business half the size in a sector under pressure from the government.
Windsor has been CFO since 2019 and joined the business in 2010. Prior to that he was Aviva’s banking adviser at Morgan Stanley.
The Oxford-educated sometime cricketer for Oxford University replaces Mike Killoran, who has been at Persimmon for 25 years and is retiring.
Sources insist the departure is amicable, with Windsor simply keen to try something new.
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Meet the doctor empowering women to own their reproductive healthHe is regarded as close to Amanda Blanc, the chief executive leading a radical shake-up of a business often regarded as less than the sum of its parts.
She sold eight businesses in around a year for £7.5 billion, including the Polish and French arms.
Windsor was on fixed pay of £800,000 at Aviva, getting a total £1.475 million in total last year.
Roger Devlin, Persimmon’s Chairman, said: “Jason is a well-respected and proven FTSE 100 CFO and we are delighted to have recruited someone of his calibre and experience as Chief Financial Officer to complement our strong management team.”
Windsor said: “I have had 11 tremendous years at Aviva, but the time is now right for the challenge of a new sector, and I am hugely excited at the opportunity of being part of Persimmon. I wish Amanda and the rest of Aviva all the best for the future.”
He will join in July. Blanc thanked Windsor for his “commitment and contribution during this time here.”
News of Windsor’s appointment came as Persimmon reported strong 2021 trading. Revenue was up 10%, supported by a bounce back in new home sales.
Some purchases were delayed at the end of 2021 by people isolating with Omicron and inflation pressures continue, but the company said these issues are minor.
Persimmon supports the government “aspiration” with its new cladding plans and says it “constructed only a very small proportion of buildings affected by this issue”.
