Barclays Names John McFarlane as Next Chairman

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John McFarlane, the former chief of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, in 2005.Credit Rob Elliott/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
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LONDON – Barclays said on Friday that John McFarlane, the chairman of the British insurer Aviva, would succeed David Walker, its chairman, who is set to retire next year.

Mr. McFarlane, the former head of Citigroup’s business in Britain and Ireland and the former chief executive of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, will join the Barclays board of directors in January and is expected to succeed Mr. Walker as chairman after the British lender’s annual meeting next year.

The change comes as Barclays and its chief executive, Antony Jenkins, move to radically reshape its operations by shrinking its investment bank and focusing on less risky and capital-intensive businesses. The lender plans to eliminate up to 19,000 jobs over the next three years.

“We are making good progress toward the delivery of our strategic objectives and I have every confidence that John will work very successfully with Antony Jenkins in leading this great bank through the next phase of that journey,” Mr. Walker said in a news release on Friday.

Mr. McFarlane will also step down as chairman of the British transport company FirstGroup after its annual meeting next year. He has been chairman of that company for less than a year.

As chairman of Barclays, Mr. McFarlane will receive an annual fee of 800,000 pounds, or about $1.3 million. That includes about £100,000 in shares.

His commitment to Barclays is expected to be 80 percent of a full-time role, the company said.

Mr. Walker, the former chairman and chief executive of Morgan Stanley International and a former executive director of the Bank of England, was appointed chairman of Barclays in 2012.