Ecology Building Society chief executive Paul Ellis will step down after 40 years at the mutual, which saw him lead it for over a quarter of a century.
Ellis is one of the longest-serving chief executives in the housing sector after spending 26 years as head of the green-focused business.
The firm, founded in 1981, says Ellis’ tenure at the helm boosted its assets from £18m to more than £226m at the end of 2020.
It adds, Ellis leaves the business with it going through “its strongest pipeline of lending ever”.
The mutual says: “The society is experiencing a strong interest in its sustainable lending solutions and is well-placed to support efforts to deliver a green recovery as the government prioritises efforts to tackle the climate and ecological emergency in the run-up to COP26.”
The UK hosts the United Nations COP26 (COP stands for Conference of the Parties) in Glasgow in November, which will see leaders from 196 nations meet to hammer out the world’s latest climate change targets.
The mutual says it has begun its search for a successor, and Ellis is expected to remain in post until 2022 to complete a handover.
Ecology Building Society chief executive Paul Ellis says: “I have had the great good fortune to work for an organisation whose principles and reason for being I passionately support.
“Indeed, with Ecology I have had the opportunity to demonstrate how balance sheet dynamics can be constructed in order to pursue the provision of sustainable finance.”
Chair of Ecology’s board Steve Round adds: “I would like to thank Paul, who will be stepping down after 40 years of involvement with Ecology, for his extraordinary contributions to both the development of the society, as a member, then director and latterly chief executive as well as the wider values-based banking, social and environmental finance, and green building community.
“Throughout that time his unwavering commitment to our founding members’ vision of applying ecological principles to finance to deliver a sustainable future has guided the society from its early pioneering activity to our current position as a leading exponent of green finance.”
