Prudential PLC confirmed that Chief Executive Officer Mike Wells will retire on Thursday and Mark FitzPatrick will take up the mantle of interim CEO.

FitzPatrick will become interim CEO on Friday and retain this role while the company conducts a search for a permanent replacement for Wells, examining both internal and external candidates.

Thereafter, FitzPatrick will step down from the board and remain available as an adviser for a period. Prudential last month said FitzPatrick had asked the board not to consider him for the permanent CEO role.

James Turner, formerly chief risk & compliance officer, will become chief financial officer, succeeding FitzPatrick.

Prudential first announced Wells’s departure in February, and said it was looking for a new CEO based in Asia.

Wells became CEO in 2015, having first joined the insurer in 1995. Wells had led Prudential’s US business Jackson Financial Inc before taking over from Tidjane Thiam, who departed for bankers Credit Suisse Group AG. Prudential last year completed the demerger of Jackson, leaving the rest of the company focused on Asia and Africa.

Shares in Prudential were up 1.1% at 1,136.00 pence each in London on Thursday.

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