EQUITABLE LIFE MEMBERS

Equitable Press Release - 26 Nov 2003

Last Updated: Wednesday, November 26, 2003 04:42 PM

Equitable Life announces retirement of Sir Philip Otton 

Equitable Life has today (date) announced that Sir Philip Otton, Deputy Chairman, has decided to retire from its Board of Directors. He will leave the Board at the end of the year.

Sir Philip, aged 70, is a former Lord Justice of Appeal and joined the Society in March 2001 as part of the new Board.  

Sir Philip said today: “Equitable Life has faced an unprecedented minefield of legal issues and, as a policyholder of many years standing, I have been pleased to have been able to assist the Society and my colleagues to seek the most appropriate path forward. The business is now stabilising, the claims against the Society are under control and the recent Court decisions in the claims against the former directors and Ernst & Young vindicate the Society’s action against both parties. I made clear to the Chairman that I would step down at the appropriate time and that time is now.”

Vanni Treves, the Society’s chairman, said today: “The new Board inherited a myriad of unique challenges and Sir Philip has made an immense contribution to the Society in the past two-and-a-half years as Deputy Chairman, and Chairman of our Legal Audit and Remuneration Committees. Policyholders should be very pleased that we had such expertise and wise legal counsel representing their interests on the Board.”