Our Board

Rob joined the Society in 1989 and was appointed to the Board in 2008, becoming Chief Executive in 2011. He has a strong customer focus, in-depth knowledge of the business and is responsible for managing the Society and implementing strategies agreed by the Board.

Outside of his role at the Society, Rob acts as Chairman of Pendle Education Trust and is Chairman of the Building Societies Association.

Neal joined the Society in 1987, becoming a member of the Senior Management team in 2000 prior to being appointed to the Board in December 2008 as Finance Director & Secretary.

As Finance Director, Neal is responsible for the Society’s finance and treasury activities, ensuring the integrity of financial and regulatory reporting and managing the Society’s liquidity, funding, and capital positions. Neal chairs the Management Assets & Liabilities Committee.

Outside the Society, Neal is a Non-Executive Director of Northern Star Academies Trust.

Heather joined the Society in June 2001 and has extensive knowledge of operations, rising to General Manager before being appointed to the Board in 2023 as Operations Director. She has a background in mortgages and savings, having spent a total of 37 years within the financial services sector.

As Operations Director, Heather also has oversight of all customer-facing teams together with change management projects to improve customer experience.

A qualified banker, John spent time with Barclays gaining both corporate and business experience before moving to Barclays Private Equity, latterly Equistone, where he remained for some 21 years. John brings diverse experience as a Non-Executive Director, having sat on numerous boards across a range of sectors, including insurance broking, online retailing and recruitment.

John chairs the Nominations Committee and is a member of the People, Remuneration & Culture Committee.

Outside of the Society, John is a Non-Executive Director at WRS (Worldwide Recruitment Solutions) and River Capital.

Mark has extensive risk and governance experience and is currently Chief Risk Officer for the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), a Government agency providing guidance on pensions, debt and money advice as well as helping to improve the nation’s overall financial understanding and capability.

Mark is Chair of the Society’s Board Risk Committee, is the Senior Independent Director and sits on the Board Audit & Compliance, Technology and Nominations Committees.

Outside the Society, Mark is a Non-Executive Director of Sopra Steria Financial Services Limited.

Previously Operations & HR Director at Cumberland Building Society, Chris has a strong marketing focus with extensive knowledge of change management and operations within the financial services sector.

Chris is Chair of the Board Customer & Distribution Committee and the Board People, Remuneration & Culture Committee. He is also a member of the Board Risk and Board Nominations Committees.

Maura is a finance leader with over 25 years’ experience in financial services gained with Credit Suisse, JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley. She has broad accounting and finance experience including treasury, capital and liquidity planning.

Maura is Chair of the Board Audit and Compliance Committee and is a member of the Board Risk, Board Nominations and Board People, Remuneration & Culture Committees.

Outside the Society, Maura is Chair of the Audit & Risk Assurance Committee of Gov Facility Services Ltd.

Joining the Society in June 2023, Georgina, known as George, is a people-orientated business leader with extensive cross-sector marketing experience in large corporates, and more recently co-founding and leading three different mortgage lenders specialising in later life lending.

George is Chair of the Board Technology Committee and is a member of the Society’s Board Risk, Board Audit & Compliance and Board Customer & Distribution Committees.

Outside the Society, George is a Non-Executive Credit Committee member at Innovate UK, a Board member of Street UK and a Board advisor to Be the Business.

Nicola is a chartered accountant and has a breadth of cross-sector experience gained at values led organisations. Having chaired audit and finance committees, she is an experienced Non Executive Director and currently sits on the Board at Westfield Contributory Health Scheme, East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust and 2gether Support Solutions.

For the Society, Nicola is a member of the Board Technology, Board Audit & Compliance, the Board People, Remuneration & Culture and the Board Customer & Distribution Committees.