Hong Kong-listed Swire Pacific has revealed its chairman has stepped down and is heading back to London.
Merlin Swire will become chief executive at the family-owned parent company, John Swire & Sons.
One of the new generation of the Swire family dynasty at the helm of the historic company, he will resume his role after three years at Swire Pacific, whose shipping interests include Swire Pacific Offshore and Hong Kong United Dockyard.
Guy Bradley, currently chief executive of Swire Properties, will succeed Swire as chairman of Swire Pacific and Swire Properties.
Swire Pacific, which also owns a majority stake in Cathay Pacific Airways, was quick to downplay any suggestions that recent political developments in Hong Kong had played a role in Swire’s departure.
An announcement released by the company went to great lengths to explain how the Swire family remained committed to the former British colony that has been their main business domain for over 150 years.
“We are confident in Hong Kong's prospects and remain determined to grow our businesses here. Closer cooperation and integration with other cities in the Greater Bay Area will bring great benefits to Hong Kong and drive the city's economic growth, and we plan to participate in that growth," Swire said.
"I will continue to spend a substantial part of each year in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, engaging with stakeholders and business partners as Swire deepens and expands its presence.”
A company insider explained that members of the Swire family and other senior executives frequently change roles and locations as they work their way up through the company’s management hierarchy.
“Swire has always promoted from within. Very rarely are outsiders brought in for senior management roles,” the source said.
John Swire & Sons is headed by Merlin Swire’s cousin Barnaby Swire, who worked in various company roles in Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea and Japan before returning to London and his appointment as chairman in 2014.
Merlin Swire’s younger brother Samuel Compton Swire is chairman of The China Navigation Co, the Singapore-based flagship subsidiary that is directly owned by John Swire & Sons.
