Board members

Meet our Board members

The Board of Nottingham Building Society includes three Executive Directors and six Non-Executive Directors. The Board, which normally meets monthly, is responsible for directing and supervising the Group’s affairs. It sets the strategy for the business, ensures that the correct financial and human resources are in place for the Group to meet its objectives and reviews management performance.

The Chair is responsible for leading the Board and is not involved in the day-to-day management of the Society.

There are a number of Board Committees to which the Board has delegated authority – the Audit Committee, Risk Committee, the Nomination Committee and the Remuneration Committee.

Please see the Board and Committee membership and their terms of reference below.

Current Board of Directors

Robin Ashton: Chair of the Board and the Nomination Committee

Robin joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in December 2023 and was appointed Chair of the Board in July 2024. He is also a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee of Domestic & General Limited, member of the Audit & Risk Committee of Domestic & General Insurance plc and Deputy Chair of the supervisory board of Domestic & General Insurance Group AG. Robin brings sector knowledge and extensive leadership experience to the table, having served as Chair of Leeds Building Society for over seven years and as a Non-Executive Director and Senior Independent Director at Shawbrook Group plc. 

 Robin Ashton headshot

Kerry Spooner LLB (Hons): Senior Independent Director

Kerry joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in September 2016. Kerry is also independent Non-Executive Chair of the Remuneration Committee of the Bank of Nova Scotia, London Branch and Non-Executive Chair of the Remuneration Committee of ANZ Banking Group UK Branch. She had 10 years of financial services experience in the Building Society sector before joining the Board. Kerry acted as a Non-Executive Director at two other building societies and has experience as a Vice Chair, Senior Independent Director, and Chair of Board Risk Committees. Prior to that she worked as a solicitor for 20 years, the last nine years as a Corporate Finance Partner of the international law firm A&O Shearman.

Kerry Spooner headshot

Clodagh Gunnigle: Chair of the Remuneration Committee

Clodagh was appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director in September 2025. She currently serves as a Non-Executive Director of Alpha Bank London, where she Chairs the Remuneration Committee; and Admiral Financial Services. She is also a Non-Executive Director of a domestic violence charity in Ireland. Clodagh is a chartered accountant with extensive experience in consumer financial services across finance, credit and risk.  Her executive career included senior leadership positions at GE Capital and Arrow, where she gained significant expertise in governance, transformation, and mergers and acquisitions. 

Clodagh Gunnigle headshot

Chris Sparks: Chair of the Risk Committee

Chris was appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director in March 2025. He is a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Risk Committee of Unity Trust Bank plc. Chris spent 9 years at challenger bank Atom as a member of the Executive Committee, ensuring risk management excellence and enabling the successful growth of the bank. Prior to Atom, Chris had a distinguished leadership career in the UK Retail Banking sector where he specialised in finance, data and risk management at HSBC, GE Capital, RBS and Virgin Money.

Chris Sparks headshot

Peter O’Donnell: Chair of the Audit Committee

Peter joined the Board in January 2021. Peter is a Non-Executive Director at Queen Victoria Hospital Foundation Trust and is a member of the Board of One Family, a mutual insurance company based in Brighton. He has over 30 years’ experience in financial services and worked as in a variety of senior finance roles at Prudential, RSA and Aviva. His last executive role was as Executive Vice President at Unum, a Fortune 500 company where he was also CEO of its UK business and Chairman of Unum Poland. Peter has a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from University College Dublin, is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accounting (‘CIMA’) and has significant experience of both international and the UK financial services markets.

Peter O’Donnell headshot

Kavita Patel: Non-Executive Director

Kavita joined the Board at the beginning of 2017 and is a Board Consumer Duty Champion. Kavita is also a Non-Executive Director and Deputy Chair of Foresight Enterprise VCT plc. She was previously a Partner and Head of Investment Funds at the law firm, Shakespeare Martineau. Kavita has a wealth of experience gained during her 25 years at Shakespeare Martineau advising clients in the financial services sector both in the retail and institutional space, on corporate, regulatory and governance matters.

Kavita Patel headshot

Susan Hayes: Chief Executive

Sue joined the Society in January 2022 and was appointed CEO in March 2022. Sue has focused her career in Retail and Business Banking and has held senior positions at Lloyds, HBOS, NatWest, Santander and Barclays. Sue joined challenger bank Aldermore in 2018 and more recently was CEO at GB Bank, a new entrant challenger, which she took through to the first stage of the banking licence and raised additional funding. Sue previously sat on the UK Finance Mortgage Board as Deputy Chair and has been nominated to the UK Finance Mortgage Board again as a Mutual representative. Sue holds an Executive MBA from Cranfield Business School. 

Sue Hayes headshot

Anthony Murphy: Chief Financial Officer

Anthony joined the Society in March 2023 as CFO. He is also a Council Member of the University of Nottingham and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee. Anthony was previously CFO of Tandem, a digital challenger bank, playing a pivotal role in their strategic transformation and journey towards profitability.  His prior experience includes CFO positions in a listed regional bank in the United Arab Emirates and senior roles in finance and strategy at Lloyds Banking Group, notably as Finance Director of its Middle East Business and supported its sale to HSBC in 2012. Anthony’s extensive international and domestic experience in challenger and established banks continues to support NBS’ ongoing transformation. Anthony is also a member of CIMA.

Anthony Murphy headshot

Simon Baum: Chief Risk Officer

Simon joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in June 2018, moving to be appointed as an Executive Director and Chief Risk Officer of the Society in May 2023. Simon has spent over 35 years specialising in risk management within the financial services sector, holding several senior positions at Experian, Alliance & Leicester and Santander, both within the UK and overseas. His previous roles include Director of Mortgage Risk at Santander.

Simon Baum headshot

You can read our board terms of reference here.

Board committees

Audit

This committee has responsibility for the oversight of financial reporting and the financial control environment across the Society, on behalf of the Board. It also has oversight of both Internal Audit and External Audit operations and effectiveness.

  1. Peter O'Donnell.
  2. Clodagh Gunnigle.
  3. Kavita Patel.
  4. Chris Sparks.
  5. Kerry Spooner.

You can read our audit committee terms of reference and internal audit charter here.

Nomination

This committee is responsible for recommending a succession plan to the Board and plays a vital role in building a diverse leadership team and fostering the organisation’s long-term success.

  1. Robin Ashton.
  2. Peter O'Donnell.
  3. Kerry Spooner.

You can read our nomination committee terms of reference here.

Remuneration

This committee makes recommendations to the Board on the general remuneration policy of the Society and specifically on the remuneration of Executive Directors. The committee also has oversight of the remuneration of both the Society’s senior management team and Remuneration Code staff.

  1. Clodagh Gunnigle.
  2. Robin Ashton.
  3. Kavita Patel.
  4. Kerry Spooner.

You can read our remuneration committee terms of reference here.

Risk

This committee is responsible for ensuring fit for purpose risk management arrangements are in place and for reviewing the Society’s risk exposures on an ongoing basis, on behalf of the Board.

  1. Chris Sparks.
  2. Clodagh Gunnigle.
  3. Peter O'Donnell.
  4. Kavita Patel.
  5. Kerry Spooner.

You can read our risk committee terms of reference here.