INSURANCE group National Mutual has appointed a new managing director following the sudden departure of the previous top man, Andrew Yang.
National has brought in Terry Smith, an Australian with 28 years' experience at the group.
Mr Smith's last posting was as managing director of National Mutual UK, a position he left in December after turning the company around, cutting staff from 1,000 to 700 in less than two years and selling it off for GBP925 million (about HK$10.5 billion) to Friends Provident, a British insurance and financial services firm.
While the firm had operated in Britain for 100 years prior to being sold it had only become visible in the market in 1987 after the purchase of Schroders Financial Management, a company spokesman said.
Despite his previous posting, National Mutual executives last night denied Mr Smith was a trouble-shooter who would move on after fixing things at National Mutual in Hong Kong.
''The only reason for his appointment is, we believe, he is the right man for the job,'' said John Snelgrove, National Mutual's marketing director.
Mr Yang resigned suddenly last month as managing director.