Our Board of Directors and Committees

Mark has worked in the Financial Services sector for 40 years and has a broad range of experience across banking and insurance, having worked for both public companies and Mutual organisations.

His recent experience was as CEO of British Friendly, a mutual Income Protection provider and interim CEO of MetFriendly an affinity based with-profits mutual, providing savings and investment products to the Police family. He is a Committee member of Huntingdon racecourse as a Governor and Chair of the Finance and Operations Committee for the King’s School Ely.

Ann-Marie joined the Society in 2006. She brought to the Society a wealth of marketing experience gained from over 20 years in the industry. She has held senior positions in various advertising and marketing agencies working on accounts such as Royal Bank of Scotland, Yorkshire Bank, Parcelforce and the NBrown Group. Since joining she has overseen the implementation of a ‘through the line’ website and is responsible for all communications issued by the Society. In 2011 she was made Marketing Director and joined the Board, taking a key role in revising its distribution strategy. In 2013 Ann-Marie was made Managing Director of the Society’s wholly owned subsidiary Financial Advice Network Limited and in January 2015 was appointed as Shepherds Group CEO.

Simon Pashby has over 30 years’ experience working in financial services. He has worked with a wide range of financial services organisations advising on risk, regulations and controls. Simon was an Audit Partner with KPMG, responsible for the audits of insurance, banking and investment companies. He now works as an independent Non-Executive Director, maintaining his financial accounting knowledge as a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
He chaired the Audit and Risk Committee of a large international medical indemnity mutual society and was a Non-Executive Director for a national building society, where he chaired the Risk Committee.

Cameron qualified as a Fellow of the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries in 1988. He has worked in the insurance industry for over 35 years not only in the UK but also in Europe and Asia. Cameron’s last executive position was as a Director and Chief Actuary for a UK mutual insurance company. Prior to that he held roles in risk, compliance, marketing and sales.

Alison has experience in both the public and private sector, across multiple industries including financial services, technology, healthcare and charities. She is an accomplished and client focused business leader with a successful track record of business transformation ensuring financial growth, digital innovation and improved customer experience.

Alison was a finalist for Board Director of the Year in the UK Women in IT Awards 2021, recognising her contribution to technology enabled organisations, and support for diversity and inclusion. She is also the Interim Chair at Acivico Group Ltd. and on the Board of Auriga Services Ltd, alongside other posts.

Neil has over 25 years’ executive experience predominantly in retail and consumer goods sectors. He has held senior and board level roles in a range of corporate structures from global PLCs to AIM listed and private equity backed businesses. With customer-facing digital transformation as a specialism, he played lead roles in the teams that digitally transformed Argos in the UK and Heineken across Europe.

External appointments: NED of Mansfield Building Society, Trustee of Shaw Education Trust and external advisor to a range of corporate clients.

Oliver has over 20 years of experience across retail, financial services and manufacturing sectors.

With his extensive knowledge and insights at board level as a CFO and Non-Executive Director, he is commercially focused and has a proven track record of delivering strategic change and operational improvements.

Oliver has served as Chief Financial Officer at Lookers PLC and First Direct Bank, Director of Central Finance at Lloyds Banking Group, and Finance Director of Co-Op Insurance Services.

He also holds several non-executive positions in both mutual and public organisations, including Beverley Building Society, Vanquis Bank and Paysafe.

Sam joined the Society in 2010. After a previous role as a software analyst, he has held a variety of roles in both Marketing and I.T. rising to Head of I.T. in 2016. Through delivery of the Society’s I.T. Strategy, he has played a key role in modernising the Society’s technological infrastructure to improve scalability and meet the needs of both our Members and the business. Sam is the Society’s Chief Information Officer and holds responsibility for the I.T. & Cyber Security, Development, Data and Operations teams. Sam holds an MA in Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh.

Qualified actuary with 30 years’ experience working in the financial services sector. Before joining Shepherds Friendly, Christopher was a Director at OAC plc where he was responsible for the delivery of the firm’s professional services consultancy work. He has previously acted as Chief Actuary and With-Profits Actuary to a number of insurers in the UK.