We have further strengthened our senior leadership team with three new board appointments as we continue to build on our sector-leading performance.
Our Head of Sales, John Scrivens, has been promoted to Sales Director and appointed to the board. In his new role, he assumes responsibility for our protection and general insurance propositions. Joanne Carrasco, who joined the board in 2018, continues to play a key role as Business Partnerships Director, with full responsibility for our relationships with member firms.
John joined us in 2023 and has been instrumental in implementing initiatives designed to help advisers deliver first-class outcomes for clients while growing their income. He brings nearly three decades of financial services experience, including previous roles at Skipton Building Society and Lloyds.
We have also appointed Recruitment & Growth Director Lesley Sharkey and Operations Director Gavin Earnshaw to the Stonebridge board. Lesley joined our parent group, MSS, in 2013 and previously held key strategic roles at Countrywide and Shepherd Direct. Gavin rejoined us in 2021 and has held leadership positions at several other networks, including Sesame Bankhall and HLPartnership.
In addition, Martyn Franklin, a board member since 2018, has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer. Martyn moved from our parent group in 2018 to become Stonebridge’s Group Finance Director, having previously served as Head of Strategic & Commercial Planning at MSS.
Our Chief Executive, Rob Clifford, described the changes as an important step as we continue to invest in leadership capability to sustain our growth strategy.
He said: “We’ve been going from strength to strength, but see no ceiling to the progress my team can deliver. Stonebridge has grown carefully but substantially since 2018 and, if anything, momentum is continuing to build.
“We’ve made no secret of the fact that we set out to offer a service for firms that leaves clear water between us and our competitors. That’s not just limited to our tech platform, Revolution, but the way we engage beyond compliance to support our members in running their business.
“To do that, we need to understand every single one of them and, while that might not be fashionable because of the time and effort required, we want that to be one of the key things that sets us apart. Lesley, Gavin, and John, along with our existing board, all embody that commitment, so their appointments are very well deserved.
“We’ve got a fantastic team throughout the business, and that’s going to continue to dictate the pace of our progress.”
Based in Essex, we have grown our broker membership consistently over the past eight years and arranged more than £17 billion of lending over the last 12 months. Today, we employ more than 200 people supporting over 1,400 mortgage and protection advisers across the UK.
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