People Moves
C. Hoare & Co. Names First Female CEO

For one of the oldest banks in the world, and something of a bastion of tradition, the bank has named its first female CEO, who had previously been UK/Europe chief executive at ANZ.
C. Hoare
& Co., one of the world’s oldest banks, has appointed Diana
Brightmore-Armour as its chief executive, taking over from Steven
Cooper who left towards the end of 2020. The bank – founded in
1672 – said that appointing a female CEO is a
milestone.
Brightmore-Armour, who joined the bank as a non-executive
director in January 2020, has 30 years’ international experience
in banking and corporate finance. Most recently she was CEO for
the UK and Europe for Australia & New Zealand Bank. Before that,
she served as CEO of corporate banking at Lloyds Banking Group
working in a range of senior finance and treasury roles at The
Coca-Cola Company. She also serves as the senior independent
non-executive director of The Berkeley Group Holdings.
“We are a 349-year old bank with one eye always on the future.
Diana is well placed to ensure we continue to meet the evolving
needs of our customers and inspire our people and I know she will
respect the tradition of care and deep personal relationships
that underpins our business,” Alexander Hoare, partner, said.
Venetia Hoare, who became the bank’s first female partner in
1996, added: “Appointing a woman as our new CEO is another
landmark in C. Hoare & Co.’s long history.”