AJ Bell CFO Summersgill gets top job as Andy Bell steps down

Investment platform AJ Bell said on Thursday that deputy chief executive and chief financial officer Michael Summersgill will succeed Andy Bell as CEO with effect from 1 October.

Bell will remain on the board and will assume the position of non-executive deputy chair with effect from the same date.

Summersgill, who has been at the company since 2007, has held the position of CFO since 2011. He will be succeeded by Peter Birch on 1 July.

"Michael's appointment as CEO is in line with the board's long-established succession plan, having been identified as a potential successor to Andy several years ago," AJ Bell said.

Andy Bell, who co-founded the business in 1995, said: "It has been an honour to lead AJ Bell as CEO, both as a private company for many years and more recently as a publicly listed business. I would like to thank our people, past and present, for helping to grow AJ Bell into the business it is today. It has been a fantastic journey so far and I am as excited as ever about the prospects for the AJ Bell.

"I am delighted to be handing over to Michael, who has already proven himself to be an outstanding leader within the company. It has been a pleasure to work alongside him for over a decade and I know he is the right person to drive the business forward with passion, enthusiasm and integrity."