New Jardine taipan to arrive as younger Keswicks make their return
Anthony Nightingale is well into the final phase of his pre-retirement dinners as he steps down as Jardine's taipan, a position he has filled since 2006. He retires at the end of the month. His departure paves the way for the return of not just one Keswick, the family that controls Jardines, but two. Ben Keswick will succeed Nightingale as managing director of Jardine Matheson, which makes him the new taipan. He is the son of Simon Keswick, the taipan in the 1980s.
Ben's cousin Adam, the son of Chippendale 'Chips' Keswick, will be deputy managing director of Jardines. This is a position that is not filled on a regular basis. While Adam is in his 39th year and Ben in his 40th, both have spent more than 10 years in various group businesses.
Nightingale has been with the Jardine group for 43 years and has been prominent on various private and government business committees. He was also chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. He leaves the group in good shape.
As Henry Keswick remarked earlier this year: 'With its extensive Asian networks and financial strength, the group is well positioned in its chosen markets.' Nightingale was responsible for Jardine Group's highly successful investments in Indonesia, such as Cycle and Carriage and PT Astra International, among others. This was a feather in his cap. It is good to see that in this age of MBAs, a man can have such an illustrious business career armed with nothing more than a classics degree from Cambridge.
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