Moreno worked for 18 years at Citigroup in Europe and Asia, running the investment banking and trading divisions and becoming a group executive.[3][4] Moreno is a director of Fidelity International, chairing its audit committee, and was their chief executive from 1987 to 1991.[3] He is said to be largely responsible for the rapid growth of Fidelity during that period.[5]
In October 2005 Moreno was appointed as Lord Stevenson's replacement as chairman of Pearson PLC, after a 5-month search.[3][6] The shortlist included Charles Gibson Smith, the chairman of the London Stock Exchange.[6] Moreno's appointment came as something of a surprise to the business world as he was not widely known in the United Kingdom and he was described by The Guardian as an "unknown quantity".[4][6] His salary at Pearson was £425,000 per year.[4] Moreno is also a senior independent director of Man Group plc, having been a non-executive director there since 1994, and persuaded the group to co-sponsor the Man Booker Prize for literature.[3][6] He is also a governor of the Ditchley Foundation and a director of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.[3]
Moreno was appointed a non-executive director of UK Financial Investments Limited (UKFI), a company established by the British government to manage its shareholding in nationalised (and part-nationalised) banks.[7] He became the acting chairman of the company when Sir Philip Hampton became chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland.[7] During this time Moreno stated that "at no point have I sought the role [of chairman] on a permanent basis".[7] He quit as acting chairman on 11 February 2009 after HM Treasury said that it would appoint a new permanent chairman.[8]
Moreno's period as chairman of UKFI was controversial because until April 2008 he had been a trustee of the Liechtenstein Global Trust (LGT), a private banking and investment group that has been at the centre of an international investigation into alleged tax evasion.[9][10] Moreno had been appointed as a trustee of LGT in 1999, at the same time joining the parent body Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation.[10] Moreno sat on the LGT's development and compensation committee, which determined executive pay, and advised on investment strategy and policy.[10] Moreno was remunerated with a salary of Swiss Fr130,000 (£76,000) per year.[10] He has stated that he had no knowledge of the individual LGT clients.[10] Moreno's continued employment at the head of UKFI was criticised by the Conservative Party due to his links with LGT.[9] Further controversy erupted over Fidelity International's donations to the Conservative Party which have amounted to £495,000 since 1994.[9]
He was appointed as senior independent director of Lloyds Banking Group in February 2010, and Deputy Chairman of the Financial Reporting Council in November 2010.[11]
