Market Harborough Building Society (MHBS) has appointed Lesley Vernon to the newly created executive position of chief engagement officer.
In her new role, Lesley will take ownership for bringing together the Society’s members, community partners and colleagues and engaging them in delivery of its ambitious Thrive! Agenda, focused on growing its savings and mortgage membership, investing in essential community projects, and becoming an employer of choice in the region.
Since the launch of the Thrive Agenda in January this year, the Society has already invested £2m in a unique initiative to purchase six homes to enable affordable housing for those who need it most, and has donated over £100k to support local food banks to support people impacted by rising living costs. The Society also recently revealed its Charity of the Year, selected by its members, Cransley Hospice.
Iain Kirkpatrick, Chief Executive at MHBS, said: “I’m personally delighted to welcome Lesley to MHBS in this very purposefully created role. We’ve made great progress with our Thrive Agenda this year, investing in some very worthwhile local causes.
“I’m genuinely excited by what we can achieve by really connecting our members, community partners and colleagues for the benefit of each other, after all it goes right back to the reason building societies were first introduced.”
Commenting on her role Lesley said: “I’m thrilled to be joining the Society in this new role and at such an exciting time. It’s a fantastic opportunity to bring together everyone in the MHBS family – our members, community partners and colleagues – in a truly unique way, and to unite behind the common goal of improving the lives of everyone in our communities.”
Lesley has over 25 years’ experience in financial services and joins MHBS from The Nottingham Building Society where she was most recently head of customer. She has held senior roles in other financial institutions, such as Santander and Alliance & Leicester, and is Chair of Trustees for the Stonebridge City Farm charity.
