Mark Tucker has earned a reputation as a determined and determined executive who usually gets what he wants.
But in the seven years since taking over as chairman of HSBC, Tucker has struggled with a key facet of his job: succession.
Tuesday’s shocking announcement that C.E.O. Noel Quinn leaves HSBC After five years in office he has once again thrown Europe’s largest bank into uncertainty without a designated successor.
As Tucker embarks on his third chief executive search in less than a decade, both his legacy and the future of HSBC hang in the balance.
Tucker is nearing the end of his term in 2026. Unless investors grant an extension to the usual nine-year time limit, he has one last chance to shape his legacy as the first outsider to chair the bank in its 159 years. of history. said a former senior bank executive.
Tucker’s record at the bank so far is mixed. The 66-year-old received credit for helping HSBC weather the coronavirus pandemic and a tough battle with the bank’s largest shareholder, Ping An, the Chinese financial conglomerate that wanted the lender to spin off its Asian division.
But there has been little movement in HSBC’s share price. It is once again trading close to the £7 the shares were at when Tucker took over as chairman in 2017, despite the lender being a major beneficiary of higher interest rates with its large deposit base.
“There should have been an increase in the share price,” said one former banker.
Some investors argue that Tucker and management have diversified the bank to ensure it is less vulnerable to falling rates.
“There is a feeling that as interest rates go down, HSBC will go down with them,” said Iain Pyle, fund manager at Abrdn, a former HSBC shareholder. “But management has worked hard to reduce that.” [rate sensitivity] and ensure the benefit of higher rates. “There are areas of the business like wealth management where they have shown pretty good growth.”
HSBC this week reported a drop in net interest income of almost 3 percent in the first quarter to $8.7 billion.
But Tucker is primarily in the spotlight for the CEO role, which is in flux for the second time under his reign.
When the British businessman became president of HSBC in October 2017 after leading the AIA Group, he already knew who would replace Stuart Gulliver as the bank’s CEO. Tucker maintained the tradition of promoting from within the lender’s walls and hand-picked HSBC “lifer” John Flint in 2018.
Tucker ousted him just 18 months after Flint took the top job. Quinn became temporary CEO while Tucker tried to find Flint’s replacement. His failure to attract Jean Pierre Mustier stepping away from UniCredit led to Quinn’s permanent appointment.
“He went through the first CEO very quickly,” said Gary Greenwood, an analyst at Shore Capital. “Noel leaves earlier than we expected. He remains incredibly political and bureaucratic at the top from HSBC.”
The handling of Flint’s departure and Quinn’s shocking exit has raised questions about Tucker’s leadership style, which people close to him have described as very hands-on.
“He is demanding, demanding, intense, but he brings out the best in people,” Sir Jonathan Symonds, HSBC vice-chairman until 2020, told the Financial Times. “People are really loyal to him.”
Others are more critical and say he can be “ruthless.”
“It’s like you’re playing chess with him, he constantly thinks many steps ahead of you,” said one executive who worked closely with Tucker.
a former professional Wolverhampton Wanderers football player And an avid Chelsea supporter, Tucker is best known among his teammates for his competitiveness and tireless work ethic. “Someone once described him to me as ‘Gordon Brown with emotional intelligence,’ which reflects that huge, absolutely indomitable work ethic he has,” said a former colleague.
Tucker, who spends considerable time at his New York home, has overseen HSBC through a significant reduction of its overseas operations. The bank has eliminated a number of international businesses deemed non-core for the Asia-focused group, including Canada, French retail banking and Argentina.
At the same time, Tucker and Quinn have doubled down on Asia, allocating more capital to China. Although this strategy could position the business for future growth, it has left HSBC in the spotlight of geopolitical tensions between East and West. HSBC generates 75 percent of its profits in Hong Kong.
“The cold war between the United States and China has become much colder,” said a former HSBC executive. “That, coupled with the slowing Chinese economy, US fund managers reluctant to invest in Chinese stocks, and the US government preventing China from having access to most advanced semiconductors. . . “It’s not a great success story.”
Despite Tucker’s reputation as a tough guy who works with the bank’s management team to make bold business decisions, from closing overseas operations to selecting staff, those close to him describe him as a fiercely private person who values home life.
Tucker’s legacy, however, now depends on successfully appointing a chief executive who can guide the bank through its next phase of growth in Asia, in his last roll of the dice before his own tenure at the helm comes to an end. its end.
Even with Quinn’s departure, there is an element of strategic maneuvering.
The normal sequence of events in corporate succession would normally dictate that Tucker leave before Quinn, who would stay until a new president is installed and has had the opportunity to choose a successor. Instead, Tucker will get his third CEO pick right before he leaves.
“The most important decision [a chair can make is deciding] Who is the CEO? This is the one who sets the direction of the company,” said another former senior HSBC executive. “This is all about Mark trying to correct history, elect the next CEO and also participate in the decision on the next president.”