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Barclays replaces head of pay committee
1. Barclays replaces head of pay committee
Barclays is replacing Sir John Sunderland as chair of its board's remuneration committee amid an
ongoing row with investors over the bank's increase in bonuses.
City veteran Crawford Gillies has been appointed as non-executive director and will become a
member of the remuneration committee from May 1, Barclays said on Tuesday.
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He will take over the chairmanship of the pay committee "at a date to be agreed, consistent with
ensuring a smooth transition", the bank added.
Sir John, who has been a supporter of some of the large pay packages Barclays doled out to previous
top management, will be retiring from the board later this year after almost 10 years, two people
close to the situation said.
"I am delighted that Crawford has agreed to join the Barclays board," said Sir David Walker,
Barclays' chairman. "He brings immense experience in a range of different industries, including the
financial services sector, in addition to a background in strategy and the public sector."
The appointment of Mr Gillies, who holds directorships at Standard Life and Mitie Group (for a more
complete biography see below), comes just as Barclays is heading for a clash with investors over pay
at its annual meeting next week.
The bank is expected to face a protest vote after it infuriated investors by increasing last year's
bonus pool by a tenth to ?2.4bn despite a drop in pre-tax profits.
Influential shareholder advisory group Glass Lewis has already recommended blocking the non-
binding vote on the remuneration report for last year.
2. Several large investors have told the FT that they are considering opposing the remuneration report
or even voting against the remuneration policy, which would carry much more weight as it is
binding. They are also angry about a boost to fixed pay for top executives in response to a new
European Union-wide bonus cap.
The appointment of Mr Gillies comes after shareholder advisory group Pirc urged investors to block
Sir John's re-election.
The search for a new head of the remuneration committee, who is ultimately responsible for the
bank's pay policies and the size of its bonus payments, started last autumn, people close to the
situation said.
Sir John, the longest serving member of the Barclays board, has in the past few months been
working to find a successor to Sir David, who is planning to step down as chairman next year.
Barclays' chief executive Antony Jenkins
unleashed a firestorm of political and investor
criticism earlier this year when he announced the
bonus hike despite a one-third drop in pre-tax
profits.
Mr Jenkins, a retail banker who started as chief
executive in 2012 with a mandate to root out what
his chairman described as pay "excess" in the
sector, has argued that the increase was
necessary to avoid a "death spiral" of defections
at Barclays' investment bank.
3. Shareholders have pointed to the fact that the bonus pool for 2013 is more than 2.5 times the size of
the dividend payout and that the ratio of pay to income in the investment bank increased from 39.6
per cent to 43.2 per cent.
Crawford Gillies: a closer look
As the controversies over bankers' pay continue,
Crawford Gillies, pictured, brings the diplomatic deftness
that will be essential when broaching such an
inflammatory issue. Just last year, in his role on Standard
Life's pay committee, he defended the ?10m bonuses
awarded to its top trio of executives, writes Helen
Warrell.
According to Barclays, his three decades in business -
with a directorship at Mitie Group, chairmanships of Scottish Enterprise and previously the CBI, and
a stint on the UK Department for Trade and Industry's management board - give him the necessary
combination of private and public sector expertise to navigate the political waters.
Mr Gillies started out at international management consultants
Bain & Company. He assumed leadership of Bain's UK business
in 1996 and took over as head of European business five years
later.
He has since held chairmanships at the law firm Hammonds,
Control Risks Group and medical innovations company Touch
Bionics. In 2012, he joined the board of Mitie Group, the FTSE
250 outsourcer.
? Education: a qualified chartered accountant and graduate of Harvard Business School. Studied law
at Edinburgh University, pictured
? Charitable endeavours: former chairman of the Saltire Foundation, which develops business talent
Scotland
? Interests: planting trees in his arboretum, cycling and watching rugby
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