UK's Prudential names Manduca as new chairman

U.K. insurer Prudential PLC has named Paul Manduca as chairman, succeeding Harvey McGrath who is retiring.

Manduca has been an independent non-executive director of Prudential since October 2010, and became senior independent director in January 2011.

Prudential said Monday that Manduca will assume his role on July 2.

Manduca will step down from his position as chairman of Aon UK Ltd. "as soon as possible" and reduce other commitments in order to make the insurer his primary focus, Prudential added.

In a statement, Manduca praised the leadership of Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam for helping the company generate strong returns for shareholders, despite the challenging macroeconomic climate, and said he is excited about his new role.

Prudential in December announced that McGrath had informed the board of his decision to retire.