Principality Building Society has strengthened its Board of Directors with the appointments of former Welsh Water managing director Nigel Annett and legal banking expert Laurie Adams.
Nigel joined Welsh Water in 1992 and is one of the founders of not-for-profit Glas Cymru that in May 2001 successfully bought Welsh Water from Western Power Distribution – financed by a £1.9 billion bond issue, the largest non-government backed, corporate bond issue ever completed in the UK.
This summer Nigel stepped down as Managing Director of Glas Cymru and Welsh Water after nine years. He has previously held various investment banking positions at Schroders, County Natwest and Wasserstein Perella.
Laurie, who is originally from Barry, has spent more than 20 years in the investment banking industry. Most recently he was brought in as a non-executive director to rescue troubled Northern Rock PLC in 2007 where he headed the risk committee. He is a qualified solicitor and previously served as Managing Director and Global Head of Legal & Compliance for the investment banking wholesale division of ABN Amro Bank. His other non-executive board positions include Novae Group PLC, a Lloyds listed speciality insurance company and Exane Limited, a Financial Conduct Authority regulated European equity sales and research group. He is also the EBRD nominee on the supervisory council of Citadele Bank in Latvia.
Laurie and Nigel said they were delighted to now be joining the Board of Principality, Wales’s largest building society.
“Principality is in a strong financial position, having just grown its assets to £7billion, but it also has a trusted brand and an unrivalled commitment to supporting social and community life in Wales. I welcome the challenges that this will bring,” said Laurie.
Nigel said: “Like Glas Cymru, Principality has no shareholders and is run purely for the benefit of its customers. By putting its Members at the heart of the business Principality is very different from other financial institutions and this clear purpose is one of the reasons why I was attracted to the possibility of joining the Board. I hope I will be able to use my own experience to support the purpose and values of Principality and the work it does for Members and indeed the wider community in which Principality plays an important role.”
Chairman of Principality Building Society, Dyfrig John, said: “I am delighted to welcome Nigel and Laurie to our Board. As a mutual, the customer is at the heart of our business and this means understanding, anticipating and delivering their needs. The world in which we operate, and the needs of our customers, are constantly changing and we need to respond to ensure we maintain loyalty and keep delivering the kind of service that has people recommend us.
“Laurie and Nigel bring a wealth of experience with them, which will help us to do this, whilst bringing in new perspectives to compliment the capabilities of our existing Board members.”
Nigel and Laurie will replace non-executive directors Chris Jones, who left earlier this year after more than six years of valuable support and latterly as Chair of the Society’s Remuneration Committee,
and Keith Brooks, who stepped down from the Principality Board in September. Mr Brooks has been a key member of Wales’s largest building society for six years.
Current Principality non-executive directors Langley Davies and Gordon MacLean will also take up new roles for the Society. Langley has been appointed to Deputy Chairman, while Gordon MacLean has been appointed to Senior Independent Director. In this role Gordon will act as a voice for Members and ensure their feelings are heard by the Board.
Mr John added: “Keith has been a great asset to the Principality Board, bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge to help us keep the Society safe and secure. Last year he helped in the transition phase as we appointed a new chief executive and he has served on a number of the Group’s committees since he joined us in May 2007.”