The Board of Nottingham Building Society includes one full-time executive director and seven non-executive directors. The Board, which normally meets monthly, is responsible for directing and supervising the Group’s affairs. It sets the strategy for the business, ensures that the correct financial and human resources are in place for the Group to meet its objectives and reviews management performance.

The Chairman is responsible for leading the Board and is not involved in the day-to-day management of the Society.

There are a number of Board Committees to which the Board has delegated authority – the Audit Committee, the Nominations Committee, the Remuneration Committee and the Risk Committee.

Please see the Board and Committee membership and their Terms of Reference below.

Current Board of Directors

Chair of the Board: Robin Ashton
Robin joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in December 2023 appointed Chair of the Board on 1st July 2024. Robin brings extensive leadership experience to the table, having served as Chair of Leeds Building Society for over seven years and held roles at Domestic & General Group and Shawbrook Group plc, overseeing expansions and digital transformations. During his tenure at Leeds Building Society, assets grew notably, and strategic investments in technology were made.

Senior Independent Director: Kerry Spooner LLB (Hons)
Kerry joined the Board in September 2016. Kerry had 10 years of financial services experience in the building society sector before joining the Board. She acted as a Non-Executive Director at two other building societies and has experience as Vice Chair, Senior Independent Director, Chair of Remuneration Committee and Chair of Nomination Committee. Prior to that Kerry worked as a solicitor for 20 years, the last nine years as a corporate finance partner of the international law firm Allen & Overy LLP. Kerry is also a Non-Executive Director of Scotiabank Europe plc and a non-executive member and Chair of the Remuneration Committee of ANZ Banking Group UK Branch.

Chief Executive: Susan Hayes*
With over 25 years’ experience in the financial services sector, Sue is known for her ability to build fantastic teams and deliver great propositions and experiences for customers. With an extensive and successful track record, Sue has held a number of senior roles with some of the UK’s top banks including Barclays and Santander. Sue has a Masters in Business Studies, diplomas in marketing and management plus both mortgage and financial planning qualifications.

Chief Financial Officer: Anthony Murphy*
Anthony spent 15 years with Lloyds Banking Group across various finance and strategy roles having joined as a graduate. His most recent role was as Finance Director of their Middle East business based in Dubai (between 2010-13) where he supported its sale to HSBC and eventual exit. Thereafter Anthony continued to work in the United Arab Emirates as Chief Financial Officer for a listed regional bank before returning to the UK and joining Tandem Bank, one of the early digital challenger banks in early 2019.

Chief Risk Officer: Simon Baum*
Simon joined the Board in June 2018. Simon has spent over 35 years specialising in risk management within the financial services arena, holding senior positions at Experian, Alliance & Leicester and Santander, both within the UK and overseas. His previous roles include Director of Mortgage Risk at Santander.

Kavita Patel
Kavita joined the Board at the beginning of 2017. She is a partner and Head of Investment Funds at the law firm, Shakespeare Martineau. Kavita has a wealth of experience advising clients in the financial services arena both in the retail and institutional space on corporate, regulatory and governance matters.

Simon Linares
Simon joined the Board in 2019. He brings a wealth of people and development experience spanning a range of sectors including FMCG, telecommunications and insurance. His most recent position was Group HR Director at Direct Line where he leads the HR, communications, public affairs and CSR strategies and in 2018 was ranked amongst the top five most influential HR practitioners. Prior to Direct Line, Simon headed up human resources for O2 Europe and Telefonica's digital businesses and Diageo, covering different geographies and cultures including Africa, Spain and Portugal.

Peter O’Donnell
Peter joined the Board in January 2021. In April 2021, Peter retired as an Executive Vice President of Unum, a Fortune 500 company and CEO of its UK business and Chairman of Unum Poland. Peter has over 30 years’ experience in Financial services and worked as in a variety of senior finance roles at Prudential, RSA and Aviva. Peter has a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from University College Dublin, is a fellow of CIMA and has significant experience of both international and the UK markets.

*Executive director

You can read our board terms of reference here.

Board committees

Audit

This committee has responsibility for the Society’s financial reporting and systems of internal control. It also has oversight of both Internal Audit and External Audit operations and effectiveness.

1. Peter O'Donnell.
2. Kavita Patel.
3. Kerry Spooner.

You can read our audit committee terms of reference and internal audit charter here.

Nominations

This committee is responsible for recommending a succession plan to the Board of Directors.

1. Kerry Spooner.
2. Simon Linares.
3. Robin Ashton.

You can read our nominations committee terms of reference here.

Remuneration

This committee makes recommendations to the Board on the general remuneration policy of the Society and specifically on the remuneration of Executive Directors. The committee also has oversight of the remuneration of both the Society’s senior management team and Remuneration Code staff.

1. Simon Linares.
2. Kerry Spooner.
3. Kavita Patel.

You can read our remuneration committee terms of reference here.

Risk

This committee is responsible for ensuring key risks are identified and steps taken to mitigate them. It ensures consideration is given to all significant matters relating to governance, control, regulatory and compliance issues and that adequate capital is maintained to cover the Group’s key risks.

1. Kerry Spooner.
2. Kavita Patel.
3. Simon Linares.
4. Peter O'Donnell.

You can read our risk committee terms of reference here.