Prudential chief out in the cold

11th Jun 2010 08:08

The odds on Prudential boss Tidjane Thiam being fired have shortened after it emerged that none of the insurer's leading shareholders have wanted to talk to him this week.Institutions are instead sitting down with chairman Harvey McGrath and senior independent director James Ross to discuss their ideas for a boardroom clearout.Thiam, whose days have been numbered ever since the collapse of Pru's $35.5bn bid for AIG's Asian arm, AIA, is on a family holiday in Spain, possibly mulling his future. At Monday's lively AGM, McGrath stood up for Thiam, claiming all the directors had backed the AIA move and that it had been on their radar long before 47-year-old Thiam took over last year."It was a unanimous decision to pursue the deal and a unanimous one to pull out," he told investors at London's Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre.But it seems almost certain someone's head will roll for a disaster that cost the company £450m, and, while the hot money's on Thim to be first out of the door, McGrath and other board members aren't safe."You failed! You're a shambles, a disgrace!" one angry investor told the board on Monday. Another told management to do "the honourable thing".While the institutions may not use quite so colourful language, the message is likely to be the same.