Stephen Bird
Chief Executive Officer
Appointed to the Board: July 2020
Stephen brings a track record of delivering exceptional value to clients, creating high-quality revenue and earnings growth in complex financial markets, and deep experience of business transformation during periods of technological disruption and competitive change.
Stephen joined the Board of abrdn in July 2020 as Chief Executive-Designate and was formally appointed Chief Executive Officer in September 2020. During 2021, he was appointed as an abrdn representative director to the US closed-end fund boards and the SICAV fund boards where abrdn is the appointed investment manager.
Previously, Stephen served as Chief Executive Officer of global consumer banking at Citigroup from 2015, retiring from the role in November 2019. His responsibilities encompassed all consumer and commercial banking businesses in 19 countries, including retail banking and wealth management, credit cards, mortgages, and operations and technology supporting these businesses. Prior to this, he was Chief Executive for Citigroup’s Asia Pacific business lines across 17 markets, including India and China.
Stephen joined Citigroup in 1998. Over 21 years he held leadership roles in banking, operations, and technology across its Asian and Latin American businesses. Before this, he held management positions at GE Capital, where he was director of UK operations from 1996 to 1998, and at British Steel.
Stephen is a member of the Investment Association’s board of directors, and the Financial Services Growth and Development Board in Scotland. He holds an MBA in Economics and Finance from University College Cardiff and is an Honorary Fellow.