The Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) has appointed asset management veteran Al Denholm as its new chief executive officer.
“With over 36 years of asset management experience in the UK, Europe, Asia, and America, he was most recently CIO of the £100bn Aviva Investment Solutions Business,” said the SNIB.
“Previously, Denholm was CIO and CEO of Prudential Portfolio Management Group, and has held senior investment leadership roles with Blackrock, ING, Insight and Scottish Widows.”
To date, the SNIB has enabled over £1 billion of investment into Scottish businesses, by directly committing over £415 million of its own capital and enabling more than £680 million of capital from other lenders and investors.
Denholm, originally from Edinburgh, said: “I’m incredibly excited to pick up and build upon what has been achieved so far.
“The bank is ambitious, and I want to help further establish it as one of the best impact investors in the industry.
“I believe we can generate great social and environmental impact and great returns for the people of Scotland …
“I’m impressed to see how much work has been put in by the team and how far the bank has come in such a short space of time.
“It is inspirational to be delivering impact for our communities through investments and I want us to look back in the decades to come with pride.
“Our discipline around impact investing provides us with expertise that institutional investors will be interested in.”
SNIB chair Willie Watt said: “Al brings a wealth of experience to the role, and I am confident he can continue to develop and grow the bank on behalf of the people of Scotland.
“The bank has made excellent progress in a short period of time, and I’d like to thank interim CEO Sarah Roughead and her executive team for their commitment.
“I look forward to Al’s leadership and continuing investment that will have a transformative impact on the economy of Scotland.”
Neil Gray, The Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy, said “The bank has firmly established itself within Scotland’s investment landscape, and I am delighted that they have secured someone of Al’s considerable experience to support them on the next stage of their growth, particularly as the bank continues to invest in projects and businesses which support our transition to a net zero economy.”