Insurer NFU Mutual has appointed Ian Geden to take over as managing director from Andrew Young, who is retiring.
Geden, who was a General Manager, has been closely involved in developing the organization's business strategy, having joined the senior management team 5 years ago, NFU said in a statement.
The Financial Times reports that the move is another attempt to combat the threat of demutualisation after NFU Mutual faced two attempts last autumn.
The mutual insurer - 10th in the country by premium income - last year appointed Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, to advise on a mutuality defence strategy, and public relations agency Brunswick, to improve its communications.
