Aviva chief to step down

The driving force behind the creation of Norwich Union insurer Aviva today revealed he planned to leave the FTSE 100 Index company in the summer.

Richard Harvey was instrumental in the flotation of Norwich Union in 1997 and oversaw its merger with CGU in May 2000 after becoming chief executive of Norwich Union two years earlier. Aviva is now the world’s fifth biggest insurance group and the largest in the UK.

The 56-year-old will hand over the post to finance director Andrew Moss on July 11.

Aviva’s chairman Lord Sharman of Redlynch said Mr Harvey had previously told him that he may not want to stay until the normal retirement age of 60.

He added: “Richard Harvey is a class act by anyone’s standards. His professionalism, skill, and foresight have made a lasting, positive contribution not only to Aviva but to the international insurance industry.”