The company, which has been shifting the focus of its business to “growth areas” over the past three years, has also handed UK chief executive Paul Matthews additional responsibility for the Irish domestic and German markets in his new role as CEO, UK and Europe.
Sandy Begbie, who has been group operations and people director since October 2011, has been appointed group operations officer.
Standard Life said the decision to place Parnaby as head of its Asian and emerging market division is part of an ongoing strategy to “increase the strategic focus on these regions”.
The company added this strategy will include “maximizing the value from our joint ventures in India and China; developing the existing and new offshore businesses; expanding the global reach of our investment management business; supporting the development and execution of our investment strategy in Asia for retail customers”.
Explaining the decision to bring the oversight of the Irish and German markets under Matthews’s remit, Standard Life said the two markets share “many similarities with the UK business – particularly in terms of customer demographic, products and proposition, and regulation”.
Standard Life chief executive David Nish said: “As we move forward, we must make sure that we continue to evolve and have the right organisational structures in place.
“The changes we are announcing today will help us as we continue to seek to maximise the value of our international assets. There are exceptional opportunities in Asia and these changes ensure we’re in the best possible position to take advantage of them. By combining our UK and European businesses, we are even better placed to capture new growth opportunities and synergies across the business as a whole.”
