David Henderson, the Edinburgh accountant who became the first chief executive of the life and pensions group Aegon UK, has died aged 81.
Apart from a short spell with a city accountancy firm, Mr Henderson spent his career with Aegon and Scottish Equitable, joining the company in 1971.
He and fellow executives David Berridge and William Stewart masterminded Scottish Equitable’s demutualisation and takeover by the Dutch giant in two phases in the 1990s.
In January 1999 he reluctantly took on the role of CEO following the early death of Mr Berridge, who at the time was the youngest CEO of a Scottish life office.
That same year Mr Henderson oversaw Aegon’s purchase of the life and pension business of Guardian Royal Exchange from Axa for £702 million, significantly increasing Aegon’s presence in the UK market.
Known to his colleagues as Hendo, he declared that his unofficial ambition was “to retire before I get fired.” Officially, it was “to leave the company in good shape on retirement.”
He expressed a liking for straight-talking people and won respect for his own no-nonsense managerial style. Scott White, who worked for him as group public affairs manager, said: “He was hard, hugely influential and inspiring. Without doubt a giant in Scottish life assurance.”
He enjoyed golf (“a Scottish thing”) and was a follower of Heart of Midlothian FC. Sadly, he did not live to possibly see the club lift the Scottish Premiership title, nor see what might become of Aegon UK which its parent company is looking to sell.
David Henderson, born 16 September 1944, died 21 February 2026. He leaves a widow Mary and a son and daughter.
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