the board of directors

The Board comprises ten directors.  Three members of the Board are full-time executive directors. The others are non-executive directors.

 This is a photograph of William Baker Baker.

William Baker Baker
A non-executive director of the Society since 1995, William Baker Baker was elected Vice Chairman in 1998 and became Chairman the following year.  He also chairs the Nominations and Remuneration Committees.  The Managing Director of Brewin Dolphin's Teesside office, he has extensive experience of financial services and the property sector that he utilises to good effect advising a variety of regional community initiatives.
 This is a photograph of Christopher Fleetwood.

Christopher Fleetwood
A non-executive director of the Society since 1995, Chris Fleetwood is a member of the Audit and Remuneration Committees.  A Chartered Accountant by profession, he was chief executive of a long-established north east international Plc until 2000.  He now runs his own e-business consultancy and advises clients in the public, private and educational sectors.  He is the non-executive Chairman of the North East Regional Portal and the North East Regional Aggregation Board.  Chris, in addition, is a non-executive director of Northern 3 VCT Plc, a venture capital trust and Chieftain Group plc.
This is a photograph of Peter Rowley.

Peter Rowley
A director and chief executive of the Society since 1992, Peter Rowley has spent his working life in financial services.  A banker by training, he is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, a Chartered Marketer and a Chartered Director.  He is a member of the Assets and Liabilities and Nominations Committees and a director of all of the Society's connected undertakings.  He is involved extensively in local and regional affairs as a board member of a number of business, community, learning and training organisations serving the region. He is also the Chairman of the regional sports board, Sport England North East.

 
This is a photograph of John McDougall.

John McDougall
A Chartered Engineer and a past President of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, John McDougall became a non-executive director of the Society in 1999.  He chairs Darlington Homes Ltd., the Society's housing development subsidiary, and is a member of the Audit and Remuneration Committees.  He retired in 2000 as the Managing Director of the northern subsidiary of a major international company and is involved in numerous regional training and business organisations.  In addition to running his own consultancy practice, John is Chairman of Tristar Homes and a director of a number of property related businesses. 
This is a photograph of Margaret Fay OBE.

Margaret Fay OBE
Currently Chairman of One NorthEast, the regional development agency serving the north east of England, Margaret Fay was Managing Director of Tyne Tees Television until December 2003.  She is involved extensively in regional charitable, educational and regeneration initiatives and joined the board of English Partnerships in January 2004.  Appointed a non-executive director of the Society in 2000 she provides a wealth of commercial, human resources and media expertise.  Margaret is a member of the Remuneration Committee.
This is a photograph of Kevin McGuinness.

Kevin McGuinness
Kevin McGuinness became  a non-executive director of the Society in 2002.  He has considerable experience of the financial services industry acquired over 37 years with Bradford & Bingley Building Society and its plc successor.  During a period of secondment to the Building Societies Commission, he was responsible for the supervision of a number of societies and for a variety of technical issues.  He is also involved in further and higher education, learning and training as Chairman of Bradford College.  Kevin is a member of the Remuneration Committee and Chairman of the Audit Committee. 
This is a photograph of James Ramsbotham.

James Ramsbotham
James Ramsbotham joined the board in 2006.  Currently chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce, he provides extensive knowledge of financial services, construction and housing development following senior roles with Barclays plc and the Esh Group, preceded by a distinguished military career. He is passionate about all things good in the north east of England and is heavily involved in the commercial, charitable, learning and training affairs of the region. He is a member of the Remuneration Committee and a director of Darlington Homes Limited. 
This is a photograph of Lucy Winskell.

Lucy Winskell
Lucy Winskell became a non-executive director at the end of 2007. A partner with Sintons, solicitors in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne she continues that role with an active interest in the regional economy and regeneration initiatives through a breadth of external appointments that include deputy chairman of Business Link North East Ltd, a director of the North East Regional Investment Fund Ltd, a member of the Business Development Committee of One NorthEast, a regional council member of CBI and several other advisory roles. She is a member of the Remuneration Committee.
This is a photograph of David Metcalfe.

David Metcalfe
Having spent all of his working life with the Society, David Metcalfe became secretary in 1991 and was appointed a director in 1993.  A Chartered Secretary, he chairs the Assets and Liabilities Committee, is a director of all of the Society's connected undertakings and a local enterprise agency.
This is a photograph of David Dodd.

David Dodd
David Dodd joined the Society in 1998 and has over 34 years experience of working in the building society sector.  A Chartered Banker and a Chartered human resources professional with an MBA from the Open University, he is also a member of the British Psychological Society and the Association of Neuro-Linguistic Programming.  David is also a Business Adviser with Young Enterprise.

Information on this page correct as at March 2008.

Back