Mike Wells (businessman)

Last updated
Mike Wells
Born
Michael Andrew Wells

(1960-04-09) 9 April 1960 (age 62)
Canada
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater San Diego State University
OccupationBusinessman
TitleGroup CEO, Athora
Term2022-
Spousemarried
Children2

Michael Andrew Wells (born 9 April 1960) is an American businessman. He was the chief executive of Prudential plc, a British multinational life insurance and financial services company, from 2015 to 2022. Wells joined Athora, a European savings and retirement group, in July 2022, where he is Group CEO.

Contents

Early life

Wells graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Science degree. [1]

Career

After graduating, he spent ten years working for a variety of financial services firms in the US, including Wood Logan, Smith Barney, McGinness & Associates and Dean Witter. [2]

Wells joined the Prudential Group in 1995 as president of Jackson National Life Distributors, part of the Group's US arm, Jackson National Life. He spent 20 years in a variety of senior positions at Jackson. He was appointed as Jackson's CEO in January 2011, at which time he also joined the board of Prudential, Jackson's UK-based parent company.

During Wells's four-year tenure as CEO of Jackson, it became the largest seller of variable annuities in the US. [3]

In June 2015, Wells succeeded Tidjane Thiam (who left to become CEO of Credit Suisse), on a pay package worth up to £7.5 million. [4] [5] In March 2016, he announced Prudential's first full-year results since taking over as CEO, showing that the group made operating profits of £4billion in 2015, 22 per cent higher than the year before. [6] He sought to reassure shareholders over business in Asia, and China in particular in 2016. "I think China and Asia in general are misread by the West," he told CNBC. "The consumers have money, are spending...all of the key metrics around our average client are very resilient.". [7]

In April 2017, Wells was voted number one insurance CEO in Institutional Investor 2017 All-Europe Executive Team rankings. [8]

In April 2018, Wells became a member of the International Advisory Panel of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. [9]

In March 2018, Wells announced that M&GPrudential was to be demerged from the Group; [10] the demerger was completed on 21 October 2019. [11]

Wells retired as CEO of Prudential on 31 March 2022. [12]

In July 2022, Wells joined Athora, a leading European savings and retirement services group, where he is Group CEO. [13] His appointment at Athora was confirmed in September 2022 following the receipt of regulatory approvals. [14]

Personal life

Wells was born in Canada but has US citizenship. He is married with two adult sons. [1] Wells owns a Tennessee cattle ranch and collects Gibson guitars. [5]

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References

  1. 1 2 Gray, Alistair (10 March 2015). "Mike Wells expected to replace Tidjane Thiam at Prudential". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  2. ↑ "Jackson National Life Insurance President and CEO Mike Wells: Successes Tied to Community Support | Michigan Advantage Blog". Blog.michiganadvantage.org. 2013-04-29. Archived from the original on 2015-07-11. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  3. ↑ Jones, Sarah (2015-03-10). "Prudential's Wells Said in Line to Replace Thiam as CEO - Bloomberg Business". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  4. ↑ Julia Kollewe. "Prudential appoints new CEO on £7.5m pay package | Business". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  5. 1 2 Jones, Sarah (2015-05-01). "Prudential Names Mike Wells to Succeed Thiam as Group CEO - Bloomberg Business". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  6. ↑ Hayley Kirton. "Prudential share price up as company announces boost to profits for the full-year ended December 2015 and reveals a special dividend". City AM. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  7. ↑ CNBC. "China is misread by the West: Prudentuial CEO". CNBC. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  8. ↑ Paul Sweeney. "Institutional Investor 2017 All-Europe Executive Team rankings". Institutional Investor. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  9. ↑ MAS. "International Advisory Panel". Institutional Investor. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  10. ↑ Lucy Burton. "Prudential unveils radical overhaul as it splits itself in two FTSE 100 firms". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  11. ↑ Senior City Correspondent, Ben Martin (2019-10-21). "M&G makes its debut after demerger from Prudential". The Times. ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  12. ↑ "Prudential Confirms Leadership Changes". 2022-03-31.
  13. ↑ "Mike Wells appointed Group CEO of Athora". 2022-07-11.
  14. ↑ "Mike Wells approved as Group CEO of Athora". 2022-09-09.
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