It has appointed its CEO, Rich Waintwright, and CTO, Lawrence Lilley, as executive directors and has also recruited a new team of independent non-executive directors (NEDs) to the board.
Stephen Mitcham (pictured) former chairman of the Building Societies Association and ex-CEO at Cambridge Building Society is among the new NEDs.
Sarah Pierman an entrepreneur in finance start-ups and Kevin Mountford, co-founder at leading FinTech Raisin UK are also on the team who will be helping to transform digitisation of financial services through embracing mutuality and taking advantage of MV’s unique customer community ownership structure – the Digital Mutual.
Rich Wainwright, CEO, said: “MV is perfectly positioned to deliver a digital platform and ecosystem for the sector it serves and to act as the digital innovation partner for its customer community.
“I am excited to have the opportunity to grow a business where the objectives and values of the business, its customers and shareholders are 100% aligned, and I believe MV can offer a service that no other technology provider can match.”
The MV Board will represent the interests of the Shareholder Forum, and will bring external perspectives and insights to the leadership team.
Stephen Mitcham, who most recently held the position of CEO at Cambridge Building Society, has an long history within financial services and the mutual sector.
MV said he was an ardent believer in the benefits offered by the mutual ownership model and was a committed supporter of the BSA.
Meanwhile, MV described Sarah Pierman as a ‘trailblazer’, who had reached director level in RBS’s SME lending team by age 25.
Sarah moved to a career in tech start-ups, went on to become a non-executive director on the board of a specialist bank age 29, and was shortlisted for the Sunday Times ‘NED to watch’ award in 2019.
Sarah joins MV with a passion for purpose driven business and with a desire to equip our UK Building Societies with the tech they need to compete in an increasingly digital banking market.
Joining them both is Kevin Mountford, whose career has seen him in a range of senior management and executive roles within financial services businesses including Bank of Scotland, Halifax and Birmingham Midshires.
More recently, Kevin worked for moneysupermarket.com where he became recognised as a respected industry spokesperson.
In 2011, Kevin founded a FinTech called Plan B Funding which secured numerous prestigious clients before co-founding Raisin UK which is now part of one of Europe’s leading FinTech businesses.
Wainwright added: “Stephen, Sarah and Kevin not only bring an intimate knowledge of the financial services sector and an appreciation of the value of mutuality, but also a diversity of perspectives and an entrepreneurial desire to disrupt established norms.
“This will be so valuable to MV in realising our vision to become the Digital Mutual and I look forward to working with them all to build a formidable leadership team.”
The trio will replace the current MV NEDs who currently directly represent the interests of the shareholder customers – Will Carroll (CEO Monmouthshire Building Society), Tim Bowen (CEO Penrith Building Society) and George McGrady (CFO Harpenden Building Society).
