Newcastle Building Society shows commitment to developing young talent by appointing 23-year old Johnny Haram as their new branch manager in the town.
Country Durham resident Johnny has become the Society’s youngest ever branch manager and one of the youngest branch managers in financial services in the whole country after taking up his role in Newcastle Building Society’s Barnard Castle branch.
Johnny, who was born and lived in Northumberland for most of his life before a recent move to Bishop Auckland, first joined the North East’s largest building society in 2016 after leaving school aged 18. He joined the Society’s Northumberland Street branch in Newcastle as a customer advisor and studied for his Certificate in mortgage advice and practice before moving to the Mortgage Distribution team and most recently managing one of the Society’s central Newcastle branches.
Having built several years’ experience in financial services across several different roles, Johnny is now leading a team of four customer advisors based at the Barnard Castle branch in the town on the Market Place.
Johnny said: “I’m eager to get into my new role in such a scenic part of the North East. The role came up at a perfect time as I already had plans to move to this area having regularly visited for hiking and days out so I’m happy to have landed such a great opportunity in an already welcoming town.”
The branch moved into its current location in September 2019 as some banks were closing and was enthusiastically welcomed by locals. The busy branch provides a range of financial services and advice, and is also focused on supporting the community recover from the impact of the pandemic. Most recently the Society announced a further £50,000 of grant funding to fifteen charities across the region tackling issues around employability, food poverty and debt.
Johnny continued: “The thing I’m looking forward to in my role as branch manager in Barnard Castle is meeting the local people and gaining a really good understanding of the local area. The community feeling in Barnard Castle stands out and I can’t wait to get involved.”
Stuart Fearn, head of customer contact at the Society, said: “Johnny is a great example of how we support and nurture young talent at Newcastle Building Society. We helped Johnny gain the qualifications and experience he needed to become branch manager and we’re proud that he has taken on all of his roles with great enthusiasm. We can’t wait to see the impact he makes at our Barnard Castle branch, closer to his new home location and we wish him every success.”