Yea leaves 3i; Queen takes the reins

Philip Yea is to step down from his position as CEO of 3i with immediate effect, to be replaced by Michael Queen, formerly finance director of the group and managing partner of 3i infrastructure.

The need for the "next generation of leadership" was stated by 3i as the reason for Yea's departure. In Q4 2008, the listed investor saw a value decline of 21% across its top 50 assets, which accounted for 61% of 3i's £5.9bn portfolio (as at 30 September 2008), and has has also seen its shares slide 75%.

During Yea's four-year tenure, £2bn was returned to investors: £500m in 2005, shortly after he took over; £700m in 2006; and £800m in 2007. Touted at the time as generous by most, many now criticise it. The listed group now has £2.1bn net debt and £839m of cash, cash deposits and undrawn committed facilities at 31 December 2008 - down from £954m just three months earlier.

3i called the environment "exceptional" in a statement put out by finance director Julia Wilson: "Since we published our half-yearly results in November, conditions in the real economy have been very challenging and credit markets have remained dislocated. In view of this exceptional environment, we are publishing the valuation of our largest assets to assist investors in understanding some of the implications for 3i."

In the last nine months of 2008, 3i invested £841m, compared to £1.8bn over the same period in 2007. Realisations over the same time periods stood at £942m for 2008, down from £1.5bn for the previous year.

Queen had been the group's finance director for eight years until 2005 and is currently managing partner at 3i's infrastructure business, based in London. He joined the firm in 1987 and was chairman of the BVCA in 2002/2003.

Yea joined 3i in July 2004 from Investcorp, where he was a managing director. Yea will stay with the firm for several months to help with the transition. He is reported to be receiving a £773,000 redundancy package.

Following the announcement that Michael Queen will replace Philip Yea as CEO, the firm has appointed Cressida Hogg to replace him as managing partner of its infrastructure business. Hogg (no relation to 3i chairman Baronness Hogg) has been with 3i for 14 years, initially cutting her teeth in the UK Growth Capital and Buyouts business. She was appointed head of the infrastructure investment team in 2005 and led 3i's investments into AWG and I2, a secondary PFI investment fund. Cressida joined 3i in 1995 from JP Morgan. She has a BA (Hons) in Politics, Philosphy and Economics from St John's College, Oxford, and an MBA (with Distinction) from London Business School.

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