Our Team | Harpenden Building Society

We are run day-to-day by a Leadership Team and overseen by an elected Board of Directors.

The Board are responsible for directing and supervising the Society’s affairs. Ensuring that it meets its statutory and regulatory obligations and protecting the interests of our members. It also has a duty to ensure that the Society maintains proper accounting records and effective business control systems.

The Board delegates certain powers and responsibilities to Board sub-committees, chaired by Non-Executive Directors and attended by a blend of Non-Executive Directors, Executives and Leadership Team.

The Board

Chairman
Stephen Richardson

Stephen joined the Society as a non-executive director in January
2014 and was appointed Chair in June 2016. He is Chair of the
Society’s Nominations Committee and a member of the Remuneration Committee.

Stephen brings a wealth of strategic leadership to the organisation
and has over 35 years of management and leadership experience in financial services at Barclays, Flemings and The Bank of New York, where he was Chief Operating Officer for Europe.

He was Global Head of Wealth Management at the World Gold
Council (trade body for global gold mining companies) covering
China, India, Europe and the USA until mid-2013. Stephen now has a
range of non-executive and advisory/consulting roles.

Finance Director
George McGrady

George joined the Society as Finance Director in May 2016 and joined the Board in January 2017. George provides the Society with financial oversight and has been an active leader for the Society’s strategic financial direction based on financial strength, sustainability and member value. His strong background means that he is also a key member of the leadership of the organisation.

He is a Chartered Accountant with a wealth of financial experience gained through a number of organisations including KPMG and, most recently, as Chief Financial Officer of Hornbuckle, the UK’s largest independent pension administration provider. George has a strong background in the mutual sector having collectively spent 12 years with Nationwide and Lambeth building societies.

George represented the Society as a non-executive director of Mutual
Vision from March 2019 until the planned restructure of the Board in
September 2020. Mutual Vision is an IT software service provider and,
along with a number of other Societies, Harpenden Building Society is a long term shareholder in the business.

Vice Chair
Nigel Boothroyd

Nigel joined the Society as a non-executive director in March 2019
and was appointed Vice Chair in May 2020. He has been the Senior
Independent Director since January 2021 and is Chair of the Society’s Remuneration Committee. He is also a member of the Board Risk & Compliance Committee and the Nominations Committee.

He has significant executive-level experience within financial services, having spent some 38 years at HSBC Group. He has carried out a number of senior roles, with experience of corporate and commercial banking; credit risk; operational risk; retail banking and wealth management.

Nigel has served on a number of Executive and Risk Committees within the UK, Europe and North America. He was also the National Head of Corporate Banking with HSBC Canada between 2012 and 2015.

Nigel is an experienced non-executive director and, in addition to his role at the Society, is currently the Chair of the Risk Committee at Redwood Bank Limited and Chair of the Remuneration and Nominations Committees at British Arab Commercial Bank plc.

Non Executive Director
Mark Willis

Mark joined the Society as a non-executive director in April 2019 and
is currently chair of the Board Risk & Compliance Committee and
member of the Audit Committee.

Mark has spent his career in financial services, most recently as Chief Risk Officer at National Counties Building Society which he joined in 2013. Previously, he served in a number of both operational and oversight roles in financial risk management at Nationwide Building Society (including Head of Market Risk) and with Nationwide Pension Fund as trustee.

Mark is currently a Reader in the Church of England and trustee of the National Counties Pension Fund.

He graduated in Philosophy Politics and Economics from Keble College, Oxford and is qualified as a Chartered Accountant and Corporate Treasurer. He also holds the PMI Award in Pension Trusteeship.

Non Executive Director
David Green

David joined the Society as a non-executive director in October 2020 and chairs the Society’s Audit Committee. He is also a member of the Board Risk & Compliance Committee.

He is a chartered accountant with around 40 years’ experience in retail
financial services. He joins us having recently retired as CEO of a leading private bank. He also served as an independent non-executive director for 7 years at a challenger bank.

Chief Executive Officer
Sarah Howe

Sarah joined the Society in January 2019 from Saffron Building Society
where she was an executive director.

With over 30 years’ experience, Sarah has worked for market leading organisations in financial services and the retail home shopping sector. Sarah was the Chief Customer Officer at Saffron Building Society having joined them in 2013. Prior to that she was the Marketing Director for RIAS PLC (general insurance) and Chief Marketing Officer for Bupa
where she worked for 10 years.

Sarah held the position of Independent Chair of the Openwork Client Panel from January 2017 until December 2019. The panel was advisory with a focus on customer outcomes and providing recommendations to the board of Openwork Holdings Limited.

Sarah is a member of the Building Societies Association (BSA) Council, the trade body for the Building Society sector and also a member of the BSA Remuneration and Nomination committees.

Non Executive Director
Richard Doe

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Richard joined the Society as a non-executive director in April
2020 and is a member of the Audit Committee, the Remuneration Committee and the Nominations Committee.

Richard has over 35 years’ experience in retail banking, covering mortgages, SME lending and retail savings. He has a marketing and business strategy background and was previously CEO of ING Direct in the UK and Managing Director of Paragon Bank plc.

He is a Chartered Banker and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of
Marketing where he is also a member of the Appointments and
Remuneration Committee.

Non Executive Director
Lesley Beecher

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Lesley joined the Society as a non-executive director in July 2021.

Lesley has worked in financial services for the last 25 years. She is a technology specialist and was a retail banking CIO in her previous role. In parallel, for the last 7 years Lesley was a non-executive director for a company offering services to the credit union sector.

Lesley has 4 grown up children and enjoys walking; having planned and completed several long distance trails.

Leadership Team

Chief Executive Officer
Sarah Howe

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Sarah joined the Society in January 2019 from Saffron Building Society where she was an executive director.

With over 30 years’ experience, Sarah has worked for market leading organisations in financial services and the retail home shopping sector. Sarah was the Chief Customer Officer at Saffron Building Society having joined them in 2013. Prior to that she was the Marketing Director for RIAS PLC (general insurance) and Chief Marketing Officer for Bupa where she worked for 10 years.

Sarah held the position of Independent Chair of the Openwork Client Panel from January 2017 until December 2019. The panel was advisory with a focus on customer outcomes and providing recommendations to the board of Openwork Holdings Limited.

Sarah is a member of the Building Societies Association (BSA) Council, the trade body for the Building Society sector and also a member of the BSA Remuneration and Nomination committees.

Finance Director
George McGrady

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George joined the Society as Finance Director in May 2016 and joined the Board in January 2017. George provides the Society with financial oversight and has been an active leader for the Society’s strategic financial direction based on financial strength, sustainability and member value. His strong background means that he is also a key member of the leadership of the organisation.

He is a Chartered Accountant with a wealth of financial experience gained through a number of organisations including KPMG and, most recently, as Chief Financial Officer of Hornbuckle, the UK’s largest independent pension administration provider. George has a strong background in the mutual sector having collectively spent 12 years with Nationwide and Lambeth building societies.

George represented the Society as a non-executive director of Mutual Vision from March 2019 until the planned restructure of the Board in September 2020. Mutual Vision is an IT software service provider and, along with a number of other Societies, Harpenden Building Society is a long term shareholder in the business.

Head of People
Tracy Campbell

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Director of Customer Operations
Raj Bains

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Chief Risk Officer
Martin Langlands

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Martin has extensive experience in the Financial Services Sector focussing on Risk, Compliance and AML.

He has worked as a Consultant with a number of Banks/Corporates including HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, UNUM, Prudential, St James's Place, Canada Life, Aviva and Cynergy Bank. He has worked for three UK Building Societies and for Consultancy's including, KPMG, Deloitte and Grant Thornton where he was a Director.

Martin is a Chartered Insurance Risk Manager, an Associate of the Chartered Insurance institute (ACII) and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (ACIM). He also has an MBA and a BA in Business Studies with Economics.

Director of IT & Transformation
Gary Richardson

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Gary joined the Society’s Senior Leadership Team in June 2021 as the Director of IT & Transformation. Gary has extensive experience in financial services having worked in the building society movement for all his 36-year career, in senior roles heading up IT and Operational Resilience.

Gary is a strong advocate of mutuality and the benefits this provides to our members. Gary plays a key role in ensuring IT services deliver the best possible service for business areas and supplying Transformation programs that provide safe and resilient future technology change for Harpenden Building Society.

He has an MSC in Leadership and Management.

We are run day-to-day by a Leadership Team and overseen by an elected Board of Directors.

The Board

Chairman
Stephen Richardson

Finance Director
George McGrady

Vice Chair
Nigel Boothroyd

Non Executive Director
Mark Willis

Non Executive Director
David Green

Chief Executive Officer
Sarah Howe

Non Executive Director
Richard Doe

Non Executive Director
Lesley Beecher

Leadership Team

Chief Executive Officer
Sarah Howe

Finance Director
George McGrady

Head of People
Tracy Campbell

Director of Customer Operations
Raj Bains

Chief Risk Officer
Martin Langlands

Director of IT & Transformation
Gary Richardson

We are run day-to-day by a Leadership Team and overseen by an elected Board of Directors.

The Board

ChairmanStephen Richardson

Finance DirectorGeorge McGrady

Vice ChairNigel Boothroyd

Non Executive DirectorMark Willis

Non Executive DirectorDavid Green

Chief Executive OfficerSarah Howe

Non Executive DirectorRichard Doe

Non Executive DirectorLesley Beecher

Leadership Team

Chief Executive OfficerSarah Howe

Finance DirectorGeorge McGrady

Head of PeopleTracy Campbell

Director of Customer OperationsRaj Bains

Chief Risk OfficerMartin Langlands

Director of IT & TransformationGary Richardson

Chairman
Stephen Richardson

Finance Director
George McGrady

Vice Chair
Nigel Boothroyd

Non Executive Director
Mark Willis

Non Executive Director
David Green

Chief Executive Officer
Sarah Howe

Non Executive Director
Richard Doe

Non Executive Director
Lesley Beecher

Chief Executive Officer
Sarah Howe

Finance Director
George McGrady

Head of People
Tracy Campbell

Director of Customer Operations
Raj Bains

Chief Risk Officer
Martin Langlands

Director of IT & Transformation
Gary Richardson