Aviva plc today announced that Andrew Moss will cease to be chief executive with immediate effect.

Aviva plc (LON:AV) today announced that Andrew Moss, chief executive officer, will be leaving the group and will cease to be chief executive with immediate effect.

The board has asked chairman designate John McFarlane to become interim executive deputy chairman with immediate effect and executive chairman from 1 July pending the appointment of a new chief executive officer.

Andrew Moss will leave the board shortly and a further announcement will be made to confirm the financial terms of his departure and date of leaving.  

David Fleming, national officer of union Unite, comments on the announcement: "Today's announcement of the departure of Andrew Moss is a welcome and important step on the road to curbing greed in the boardrooms of the financial services sector.

"Under the disastrous leadership of Andrew Moss Aviva has scaled back its operations resulting in job losses, including the decimation of its Irish workforce and pay suppression for the staff.

"Unite members have helped build one of Europe's top insurance companies and the workforce deserve better leadership from those at the top, who have continued to accept growing pay packets whilst taking the company backwards. Aviva now needs to fully recognise the efforts of its workforce whose trust and confidence it will need to rebuild if it is to emerge from the instability at the top of the organisation."