3i has promoted senior independent director David Hutchison to chair the business once incumbent Simon Thompson steps down at the company’s 2022 AGM. A former senior banker at NM Rothschild and SG Warburg, Thompson announced his departure earlier this year, having served in the role since 2015. The appointment continues a 20-year run of high-profile City veterans in the post. Thompson assumed the role from the banker, senior mandarin and current Aviva chair Adrian Montague. His predecessor, Sarah Hogg, became the first woman to chair a FTSE 100 board on her appointment in 2002. Hutchison was previously chair of the company’s valuation committee. He has been CEO of non-profit group Social Finance since May 2009. He previously spent 25 years with the-then Dresdner Kleinwort, rising to become head of UK investment banking. The company has additionally hired former Alliance Trust chair Lesley Knox as an independent director.