Hargreaves Lansdown PLC (LSE:HL.) has announced that Deanna Oppenheimer will step down as chair on 8 December amid growing shareholder unrest over her tenure at the savings group and in the face of criticism from one of its founders.
Last year, a third of investors voted for her to go, while proxy voting firm Glass Lewis recommended that they vote against Oppenheimer in the upcoming AGM.
Alison Platt, currently chairing Dechra Pharmaceuticals and Ageas UK and a non-executive director at Tesco, is will succeed Oppenheimer.
The change in leadership follows public criticism from co-founder Peter Hargreaves, who described Oppenheimer's tenure as a "disaster", citing a 60% decline in the company's share price during her time as chair.
Last week, the group lost its coveted place in the FTSE 100 index of top UK stocks.