Gauden joins the Manchester-based mutual from Newcastle Building Society, where she was national sales manager.

At the Newcastle she carried out the lender’s mortgage broker business strategy and managed the field and telephone business development team.

Before working at the Newcastle, Gauden had roles at the Chartered Insurance Institute, Paymentshield, CHL Mortgages, Virgin Money and Northern Rock.

In her new role Gauden has been tasked with overseeing the sales team, increasing revenues and developing the friendly society’s proposition.

Shepherds Friendly wants to work with more brokers, and recently announced a partnership with Primis, which has almost 3,000 mortgage advisers and more than 1,000 mortgage and protection firms in its network.

The friendly society has also entered into distribution agreements with SimplyBiz, Next Intelligence, Mortgage Intelligence, Paradigm and The Money Group in recent years.

Gauden said: “I’ve been incredibly impressed by the culture at Shepherds Friendly, and I’m excited to lead the sales team as we focus on growth, innovation, and maintaining our commitment to putting members first.

“Financial resilience has never been more important, particularly in today’s economic climate. The need for holistic advice and comprehensive protection is greater than ever, and with a significant protection gap still evident across the UK. It’s a privilege to be part of a member-focused organisation dedicated to helping more people build long-term financial security.”

Shepherds Friendly chief sales officer Phil Nash said: “Laura comes to Shepherds Friendly with a vast amount of mortgage and insurance market experience and we’re incredibly happy to welcome her into the team at this exciting time of growth.”