Following news that Man Group PLC (LSE:EMG) has appointed Robyn Grew as the new chief executive officer, the investment group will now join a very exclusive club.
The firm will become one of only three FTSE 350 companies with both a female chairperson and CEO.
The hedge fund is set to replace chairman John Cryan with Anne Wade in late 2023, around a similar time to when Grew will take charge.
The only other two companies which currently observe this setup are two water utility providers, Severn Trent PLC (LSE:SVT), and Pennon Group PLC (LSE:PNN, OTC:PEGRY).
Pennon, based in Exeter, appointed Susan Davy in July 2020, the same time which Gill Rider became chairwoman.
Over in the Midlands and Wales, Severn Trent has been headed by Liv Garfield for close to a decade, working alongside chairwomen Christine Hodgson for the last three years.
The FTSE 100 constituent will also join an even more exclusive club in the coming months, as it is set to replace its chief financial officer, James Bowling, with Helen Miles in July.
This move would make it the first FTSE 350 company to have women in all three senior positions.
However, Man Group’s double appointment won’t increase the number of FTSE companies with a chairwoman and female CEO duo.
Both Admiral Group Plc (LSE:ADM) and Taylor Wimpey PLC (LSE:TW.) replaced their female chairs in April, even though the two are led by a female chief executive.
Insurer Admiral replaced chairwoman, Annette Court, with ex-Liverpool Victoria boss Mike Rogers and Taylor Wimpey appointed Robert Noel to take over from Irene Dorner’s position.
Additionally, only four FTSE companies currently have two female executives on the board although this will change to six when Miles takes over at Severn Trent and Debra Crew takes charge of Diageo PLC (LSE:DGE).
No organisation has three or more female executive board members, the FTSE Women Leaders report found.
The firms with two are Aviva PLC (LSE:AV.), NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG), Next PLC (LSE:NXT) and Future PLC (LSE:FUTR).