James “Jamie” Anthony Forese has officially been appointed as an independent non-executive Director within HSBC Holdings plc. This announcement came from HSBC itself when it recently unveiled changes to its Boards of Directors. He is scheduled to take his position as of the 1st of May, 2020, and will be appointed as a member of the Group Remuneration Committee, the Group Audit Committee, as well as the Nomination & Corporate Governance Committee.
A Man of Many Positions
Forese had previously served as the President of CitiGroup. He had started his career in the securities trading industry with one of the predecessor companies of CitiGroup, Salomon Brothers, back in 1985. As he had served the most recent role as CEO and President of Citigroup’s Institutional Clients Group, he had taken the role of CEO of its Securities and Banking Division alongside being the Head of Global Markets within Citigroup.
Forese further stands as a non-executive director within the Princeton University Investment Company and is also a trustee within Colby College, as well.
Payments For Every Role
The Directors of HSBC have concluded that Forese himself is an independent entity. Through this decision, the Directors have found that there were no other circumstances or relationships that would adversely affect his judgment. Furthermore, the Board of HSBC has further concluded that any relationships and circumstances that should appear will not be considered to be material in terms of this judgment.
Standing as an independent non-executive director, Forese will not have a service contract within HSBC Holdings plc, proper. Instead, he will be paid total fees of £244,000 a year, as in accordance with the remuneration policy for directors that were approved by shareholders.
This approval was made in the Annual General Meeting of 2019 for HSBC. The total fees per annum stand at £127,000 for his role as an independent non-executive Director, with a further £40,000 for being a member of the Group Audit Committee.
He will be given another £40,00 as a member of the Group Remuneration Committee, another £33,000 is provided as a member of the Nomination & Corporate Governance Committee. The last £4,000 is designated as Travel Allowance for him to go to his various meetings.
Subject To Democracy
Now, Forese’s appointment as an HSBC Holdings Director is subject to an election through the vote of the company’s shareholders. This vote will be held at the 2021 Annual General Meeting and the annual re-election after that. His initial term at the company will stretch three years, starting from his initial election should he be successful. He will have to be re-elected at the 2024 AGM should it be so.
