Our Team | Harpenden Building Society

We are run day-to-day by a Senior Management 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 Senior Management.

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 a member of the Society’s Remuneration & Nominations Committee.

Stephen brings a wealth of strategic leadership to the organisation. He 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.

Non-Executive Director
Judith Mortimer Sykes

Judith joined the Society in October 2011 and held the position of Vice Chair between March 2014 and May 2020. Judith has been the Society’s Senior Independent Director since January 2016 and is currently the Chair of the Society’s Remuneration & Nominations Committee and a member of the Audit Committee. She is an experienced Non-Executive Director with substantial and varied board experience of corporate governance, strategy and risk.

Judith has significant financial services experience which has encompassed corporate banking at Bank of America. She also has extensive experience of retail banking in the mutual sector including six years as Head of Lending Control at the Nationwide Building Society where she spent 18 years of her career.

Finance Director
George McGrady

George joined the Society as Finance Director in May 2016 and joined the board in January 2017.

George provides financial oversight and has been an active leader for the Society’s strategic direction based on financial strength, sustainability and member value. His strong background means that he is also a key member of the Society's Leadership Team.

He's a Chartered Accountant, with a wealth of financial experience from extensive periods at a number of organisations including KPMG, and most recently Hornbuckle (the UK’s largest independent pension administration provider), where he assumed the position of Chief Financial Officer.

George has a strong background in the mutual sector, having collectively spent 12 years with Nationwide and Lambeth building societies.

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 is a member of the Risk & Compliance Committee.

Nigel 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 currently the Chair of the Risk Committee at Redwood Bank and also chairs the Credit Committee at Reliance 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' of 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 is currently the Independent Chair of the Openwork Client Panel, a post she has held since January 2017. The panel is advisory with focus on customer outcomes and providing recommendations to the board of Openwork Holdings Limited.

Non Executive Director
Mark Willis

Having joined the Society in January 2019, Mark is currently chair of the Board Risk and Compliance Committee and a 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, Mark 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.

Mark graduated in PPE 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 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 C Hoare & Co. He also served as an Independent Non-Executive Director for 7 years at Bank of Cyprus UK.

Non Executive Director
Richard Doe

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Richard joined the Society as a non-executive director in March 2020 and is a member of the Remuneration 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.

Senior Management 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' of 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 is currently the Independent Chair of the Openwork Client Panel, a post she has held since January 2017. The panel is advisory with focus on customer outcomes and providing recommendations to the board of Openwork Holdings Limited.

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 financial oversight and has been an active leader for the Society’s strategic direction based on financial strength, sustainability and member value. His strong background means that he is also a key member of the Society's Leadership Team.

He's a Chartered Accountant, with a wealth of financial experience from extensive periods at a number of organisations including KPMG, and most recently Hornbuckle (the UK’s largest independent pension administration provider), where he assumed the position of Chief Financial Officer.

George has a strong background in the mutual sector, having collectively spent 12 years with the Nationwide and Lambeth Building Societies.

Head of People
Katherine Logan

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Head of Finance & Treasury
Vikas Mawkin

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Vikas joined us in April 2019 as Head of Finance and Treasury, and is part of the Society’s Senior Management Team and the Executive Committee. Previously he was Head of Financial Reporting at Gatehouse Bank, a specialist Real Estate lender, and before that he held senior Finance roles at the investment bank Lazard and the Bank of England.

Vikas is a Fellow Chartered Management Accountant and has a Bachelor’s degree from Queen Mary College - University of London.

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.

Head of IT
William Purdy

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William has over 25 years’ experience of working in financial services. He started with a computer manufacturer and went on to be Head of Sales and Engineering in an organisation providing software and technology services to banking. Leading to many projects for financial firms, including many start-ups in the City of London, gaining regulatory experience.

William has extensive technology leadership experience, as Head of IT in Norinchukin, an International bank where he worked for over ten years and also in BLME, from the start-up of this Islamic bank, for more than eight years. In these tenures, he was responsible for delivering digital technology into the business areas to support product offerings in many aspects of banking including, retail, commercial and wealth management.

With this wealth of experience, William has also provided consultancy services to financial firms, including building societies and has conducted business in many banking cities around the world.