Stuart became Chief Customer Officer in 2017 and has been a member of the Society’s Board since 2018.
He’s a Director of Newcastle Financial Advisers Limited and sits on the Board of the national High Streets Task Force. The Society’s commitment to face-to-face financial services and its track-record in innovation align well with the Task Force’s programme of work in determining and addressing issues at a national level.
As an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Stuart also holds the Customer Experience Professionals Association qualification for senior business leaders. Stuart has over three decades’ experience working in the financial services sector, including Virgin Money, where he was responsible for running branches, lounges and the ATM network; RBS International, where he was Head of Mortgages and Head of Customer Experience; and NatWest, where he ran large teams across branches and private banking.
Stuart is responsible for all customer-facing areas and the commercial performance of the Member business including branches, mortgage operations, mortgage advice, product development, marketing, group communications and financial advice.
“I’m acutely aware of the benefits of a physical high street presence and the role that face-to-face financial services plays in delivering long- term relationships with our customers and a wider transformative impact on our communities.”