Recognise Bank has appointed Ian Workman to the role of managing director of commercial banking.

Workman joins from Barclays where he spent the majority of his 30-year career in financial services, the last five years of which as head of SME banking relationships in the UK. 

He will oversee Recognise Bank’s entire commercial lending offering, working with its network of regional relationship managers.

Workman led Barclays delivery of business banking relationships, products and services to SME customers as well as being one of the senior leaders in Barclays UK business banking. He also led on Barclays’ strategy for diversity and inclusion in the business Banking.

Workman says: “Small business is in my DNA. My father ran his own small business, as did other relatives in my family. Supporting SMEs is not just a job to me, it’s something that I have lived and breathed, talked about at the dinner table and experienced first-hand. 

“I am incredibly excited to be joining Recognise. After so many years at a big bank, I am looking forward to working in a truly entrepreneurial environment, where I will get the opportunity to meet business owners face to face again.”

Recognise Bank chief executive Jason Oakley says: “I am delighted that Ian has decided to join us to help drive our commercial banking. Not only will he be a real asset to the business, being able to attract somebody of Ian’s calibre and experience shows just how compelling Recognise is in the world of business banking.” 

In further lender career news, Tipton and Coseley Building Society has promoted Richard Groom to the role of director of customer service.

In his new role, Groom will work alongside the senior management team and will help develop future strategy, drive continuous improvement and deliver an enhanced customer service operation. He will oversee the society’s branch network, administration, underwriting, collections and mortgage processing teams. 

Groom joined the Tipton in 1994 as a branch assistant and has since held several roles within the society. For the past 12 years he has worked as head of mortgage sales, responsible for driving mortgage sales through both intermediaries and direct customers. 

Groom says: “Providing great customer service is at the heart of everything we do at the Tipton so I’m very much looking forward to continuing to build on this in my new role. We have some exciting plans to increase customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention as we aim to exceed our customers’ expectations”.