About Martin Gilbert

Martin Gilbert is the co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Aberdeen Asset Management, serving from 1983 to 2017. During his tenure, Aberdeen grew to become one of the world's leading independent asset managers through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions. In its first year, the business had Assets under Management (AuM) of £70 million and reported pre-tax profits of £87. By 2016, the figures had risen to £352 million in profits and £312 billion in AuM. In 2017, Aberdeen merged with Standard Life to form Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA). Following the merger, Martin Gilbert was appointed co-Chief Executive Officer, a role he stepped down from in March 2019. Martin Gilbert then served as Vice Chairman of the group from March 2019 until May 2020, when he stepped down from the PLC board. He retired as Chairman of Aberdeen Standard Investments, the asset management business of SLA, at the end of September 2020. Martin Gilbert is currently Chairman of Revolut Limited, AssetCo, and Toscafund, as well as the Senior Independent Director at Glencore plc. In 2011, he joined the Board of Sky PLC, became Deputy Chairman in January 2016, and chaired the Board before the company was acquired by Comcast. Between 1995 and 2013, he served as Chairman of FirstGroup, having been a director since its formation in 1989. Martin Gilbert also holds leadership roles as Chairman of The Net Zero Technology Centre in Aberdeen, honorary president of the Aberdeen social care charity VSA, Chairman of Scottish Golf, and a Non-Executive Director of the European Tour. Martin Gilbert is a member of the International Advisory Board of British American Business and previously chaired the UK's Prudential Regulation Authority’s Practitioner Panel. He also served on the International Advisory Panel of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. In 2015, Martin Gilbert was ranked 22nd by the Harvard Business Review out of over 900 in its list of the world’s top-performing CEOs. He was named Personality of the Year at the City AM Awards in 2017 and Asset Management CEO of the Year at the Global Investor Awards the following year. In 2020, he received the Editor’s Choice Award at the Financial News Asset Management Awards in recognition of his 37-year contribution to the industry. Martin Gilbert holds honorary degrees from the University of Aberdeen, Robert Gordon University, and Heriot-Watt University. Additionally, he is an Adjunct Professor of Finance at Imperial College Business School. Born in Malaysia, he graduated from the University of Aberdeen in 1978 with an MA in Accountancy and an LLB in Law. After qualifying as a chartered accountant with Deloitte, he joined the investment department of the local law firm Brander & Cruickshank, which later became Aberdeen Asset Management.