No "magic wand" for Aviva chief's successor Leading shareholders have welcomed the departure of Andrew Moss as chief executive of Aviva, believing it gives the insurance group an opportunity to make a fresh start after several years of underperformance. However, analysts sympathetic to Mr Moss's plight say that much of the investor criticism about his leadership has ultimately been more about style than substance. As a result, the worry is that his successor may also struggle to revive Aviva's fortunes. "He was accused of being complacent, arrogant and out of touch," says Marcus Barnard at Oriel Securities. But in terms of strategy, what more could he really have done? He adds of Mr Moss's replacement: "It's not like they can just wave a magic wand." Potential candidates, analysts believe, include Andy Haste, who is credited with turning round RSA, and Jim Schiro, former chief executive of Zurich Financial Services. Internal possibilities include Trevor Matthews, who joined last year and was recently promoted to developed markets executive director, and Pat Regan, finance director. A more contentious choice would be the well-regarded Igal Mayer, who runs Aviva's European operations. He is to lose his job under a shake-up that Mr Moss unveiled shortly before his departure. Whoever takes over as chief executive, the broad consensus among analysts is that a priority for the newcomer will be to shore up Aviva's capital base. The group's capital levels above those required by regulators have been highly volatile in recent months. Unlike other big listed UK insurers such as Prudential, Aviva has extensive operations in continental Europe, including in particularly tough markets such as Italy, Ireland and Spain. Aviva Europe accounted for 37 per cent of the group's total gross written premiums last year. Indeed, in heated exchanges with angry private investors at last week's annual meeting, Lord Sharman, the outgoing chairman, said critics had persistently overlooked the group's extensive exposure to the eurozone. "I'm not prepared to accept responsibility for the banking crisis - or for the European debt crisis," he said. Both have had very significant impacts on the company. Even investors who are critical of Mr Moss concede that there are few easy solutions to Aviva's problems. But they want the group to formulate a plan and stick to it. Under Mr Moss, Aviva drew up a list of countries it considered "core" - eight in Europe, as well as the US, Canada, China and India. Nevertheless, Mr Moss indicated this year that the group might retain its business in Singapore, one of its non-core markets. Conversely, he told a group of investment managers at a recent meeting that Aviva could consider offers for its US business "There's been an element of "it's in, it's out, it's in, it's out." Nobody's been quite sure," says one influential institutional investor. It's about coming up with a strategy that everyone can believe in and get behind. Oliver Steel, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, estimates that a sale of Aviva's US business and remaining stake in Delta Lloyd, a Netherlands-based financial services group, would reduce the group's debt by £1bn and strengthen its solvency position. Sceptics, however, point out that there are few obvious buyers for the US operation. Other analysts believe it could be time to revisit a long-running question about Aviva's structure. Mr Moss had long argued in favour of Aviva's "composite" model. Unlike British peers but in common with large European groups, Aviva has extensive operations in both life and non-life insurance. However, Abid Hussain at Jefferies says the group should consider disposing of its non-life insurance operations in the UK and Canada. "It's not actually clear how much diversification benefit you get from owning both life and non-life operations," he says. Without providing details, John McFarlane, the incoming chairman, gave a hint of his priorities on Tuesday. Along with plans to undertake yet another review of Aviva's disparate businesses, he said that the group would focus on improving "capital and financial resources . . . to ensure we achieve and maintain financial strength." Toby Langley, an analyst at Barclays, says: "It's more fundamental than selling this or buying that. Aviva could benefit from a complete change in mindset, away from top line initiatives of the past towards clear communication of capital and cash.