Hargreaves Lansdown has appointed a new head of legal, hiring Direct Line GC Angela Yotov as chief legal officer and company secretary.
She will join the company in May, replacing Craig Diamond, who was appointed interim CLO in March of this year. Diamond has been at the company since 2014 and has held the head of legal role since 2015.
Yotov has extensive experience in the financial services sector, and joins the UK-based investment platform from Direct Line. She joined the insurance company in February of this year, and stepped down in July, after Aviva completed its £3.7bn acquisition of Direct Line.
Before this, Yotov served as group GC at banking group Close Brothers for nearly six years. Before that, she spent more than three years as GC at peer-to-peer lender RateSetter, after nearly a decade as legal counsel for Barclays’ investment bank and wealth and investment management divisions.
In March, Hargreaves Lansdown was taken private by a consortium of private equity firms including CVC Capital Partners, Nordic Capital and a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, in a transaction valued at £5.4bn.
In a statement on Yotov’s hire, interim CEO, Richard Flint said: ‘We’re extremely fortunate to have someone of Angela’s calibre joining the team, with her deep experience in organisations delivering and leading through change both in the public and private sectors.’
He continued: ‘Angela has managed complex regulatory environments in financial services, while building and developing high-performing teams.’
Flint was made interim CEO in August, following the departure of Dan Olley, who left shortly after the acquisition.
Of her move, Yotov said: ‘I am delighted to be joining Hargreaves Lansdown as Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary at such an exciting time for the business. As the UK market leader in its sector, Hargreaves Lansdown has built a strong reputation for integrity, innovation, and putting clients first. It’s a privilege to be part of a company that has an important purpose, making it easy for people to save and invest for a better future.’
