BAAR, SWITZERLAND – Martin Gilbert has been appointed an independent non-executive director of Glencore PLC, effective immediately, the company’s board announced on May 5.

Gilbert is a co-founder and chief executive of Aberdeen Asset Management PLC, the holding company of the fund management group that was established in 1983.

Gilbert was appointed chairman of the Prudential Regulation Authority's Practitioner Panel in December 2013. He sits on the board of directors of the Institute of International Finance. He is also a member of the International Advisory Panel of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the International Advisory Board of British American Business. Gilbert is also the deputy chairman of Sky PLC.

Prior to this, Gilbert has served as chairman of FirstGroup PLC.

Gilbert, who was born in Malaysia, was educated in Aberdeen and has a master’s of arts degree in accountancy and a bachelor’s of law. In 2009 he was awarded the honorary degree of doctor of laws by the University of Aberdeen. Gilbert is an adjunct professor of finance at Imperial College Business School and in 2014 was awarded a doctorate of letters from Heriot-Watt University.                                

“On behalf of the board I am delighted to announce the appointment of Martin Gilbert,” said Tony Hayward, chairman. “Martin is one of the leading entrepreneurs of asset management and also has a long track record as a FTSE non-executive director. We are delighted that Martin has agreed to join us and look forward to benefitting from his experience and insights.”