BSA CONFERENCE 2008 - NEW CHAIRMAN ELECTED

John Goodfellow, Chief Executive of Skipton Building Society, has been elected Chairman of the Building Societies Association for 2008/09.  He replaces Iain Cornish, Chief Executive of Yorkshire Building Society, who has held the post for the past year.

John became Chief Executive and Director of Skipton Building Society in 1991.  He was educated in Scotland and has spent his entire career working in building societies, specialising in data processing and the use of technology to improve efficiency (full biographical details below).

Commenting on his election as Chairman, John Goodfellow said:  
"The turmoil in the financial services market and the impact of the credit crunch provide an ideal opportunity for the building society movement.  The fairness of mutuality and the inherent strength of our business models position us as the providers best placed to weather this storm. 

“I am honoured to take the Chair for a second time, especially at such an
important time for our industry.  The building society movement has lasted over 230 years thanks to the core pillars of fairness for customers, prudence on behalf of customers and the trust of customers: I believe these are now more important than ever."

Neville Richardson, Chief Executive of Britannia Building Society, has taken over as Deputy Chairman from John Goodfellow (full biographical details below).

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BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN GOODFELLOW, CHAIRMAN OF THE BSA

John Goodfellow was educated in Scotland and has spent his entire career working in building societies, specialising in data processing and the use of technology to improve efficiency.  He has been President of the Unisys Users Association (UUA) and has spoken at numerous seminars on the use of technology and fourth generation languages. 

John joined the Society in 1984, after 20 years in the industry, to lead the IT development strategy.  He was appointed Chief Executive in 1991 and since then has driven the expansion of subsidiary companies to support the Society’s core objectives.  He is a past Chairman of the Building Societies Association and is also a member of the Association’s council. John is Chairman of Business Link North Yorkshire and Chair of Governors of Skipton Girls’ High School.

A keen supporter of many sports, including rugby and football, John also enjoys the theatre, travel and reading.  Aged 61, he lives in Skipton with his wife Philippa his son Sam and daughter Lucy and has two elder sons, Iain and Graham.

BIOGRAPHY OF NEVILLE RICHARDSON, DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF THE BSA

Neville Richardson, 50, originally from Derbyshire, England, joined the Board of the Britannia Building Society in 1998.  A Chartered Accountant, he was appointed to the position of Group Finance Director at the Society after 21 years with Price Waterhouse, where he was a partner in the Financial Services Practice.  During his career with Price Waterhouse, Neville was based in Manchester and London in the UK, and St. Louis in the USA.  Neville was appointed Group Chief Executive on 1 November 2002, where his principal focus is on strategy, communication and change.

He is married to Sara, and has three daughters and two step children.  Neville's interests include theatre, walking, football (he is a keen Manchester City supporter), attending rugby and cricket matches, and family activities. He is a member of Lancashire County Cricket Club and formerly captained Lancaster University's 1st XI cricket team. Neville is also a keen runner and will be entering the Great North Run again later this year.  He also likes to travel and looks forward to family holidays. In August 2007, Neville and Sara climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

Britannia Building Society is the second largest mutual building society (savings and mortgage loans), with a network of 254 branches throughout the UK, almost three million members (customers) and group assets of more than £36bn.

Earlier this year (March 2008) Britannia was named as number two in the Sunday Times' 20 Best Big Companies to Work For. Neville also received the special award for the Best Leader of Big Companies.

CONTACT: Rachel Le Brocq
DIRECT LINE: 020 7520 5905
NIGHT/WEEKEND: 07773 489644
EMAIL: rachel.lebrocq@bsa.org.uk