Friends Provident, the UK life assurance and pensions group, has named Evelyn Bourke as its new chief financial officer.

Ms Bourke, chief financial officer at Standard Life's UK arm, will replace Charles Bellringer, who was appointed interim chief financial officer at Friends Provident following the departure of Jim Smart last year.

Friends Provident, which made senior management changes following its aborted merger with Resolution Group last year, said that Mr Bellringer was employed on an interim contract and would not be entitled to severance pay.

He will remain as chief financial officer for six months while Ms Bourke works her notice period at Standard Life, where she worked alongside Trevor Matthews, Friends Provident’s new chief executive, who joined three months ago.

Standard Life confirmed that Ms Bourke, 43, would serve her notice but said she had been replaced as chief financial officer with immediate effect. She will assume an unspecified role within Standard Life's finance department with John Gill, head of customer services for UK financial services, taking on the additional role of interim chief financial officer from today.

Standard Life said it would begin looking for a permanent replacement immediately.

Ms Bourke, who has worked at Chase de Vere Investments and St James Place, the wealth manager, joined Standard Life as group planning and strategy director in 2005. She subsequently served as group actuarial director before being appointed chief financial officer.

Ms Bourke's appointment comes a week after Friends Provident abandond a nine-month search to sell Lombard, its wealth management division, and its 52 per cent stake in F&C, the fund manager.

Mr Matthews told investors: "I am very confident about the future. We are confident of achieving the cost reduction commitment we made at the start of this year, and confident too of reshaping the organisation to flourish both in the UK and increasingly overseas."