Andrew is an experienced Chief Financial Officer and board member, having founded a new independent bank, Hampden & Co.
In just over a decade, together with a small focused team, he took the start-up business from inception to profitability, having worked with the regulator to secure a banking licence, raised capital and developed its product offering and service channels, including digital.
During a career of more than 30 years in finance and business, Andrew has built up further experience in audit, leisure, change programmes, sales and distribution and manufacturing. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants England & Wales and lives in Edinburgh. Andrew enjoys keeping fit and, whatever the weather, walking with his dog in the Pentland Hills.
Andrew was elected as a Non-Executive Director at the AGM in April 2024.
Kellie has 23 years’ experience in financial services, in consulting, executive and senior roles. Most recently, she has been working as a change consultant, advising executives on change management in sustainability, risk and compliance, governance, and corporate strategy.
She was attracted to join Ecology as a business which is focused on sustainability, to support the Society’s strategic plans to thrive and grow into the future.
Outside work, Kellie volunteers with a charity based in her local area in London, providing coaching, mentoring and advice to disadvantaged 12 to 14 year olds, helping them to progress through education so they can understand and work towards their career aspirations.
Kellie was elected as a Non-Executive Director at the AGM in April 2024.
Sameera is a qualified accountant and has worked within the mutual sector for almost 20 years with expertise including financial planning, business partnering, procurement and commercial strategy, within a complex regulated environment.
In her last role, as Director of Financial Strategy & Business Partnering at Skipton Building Society, Sameera co-led the development of a new group strategy to deliver more value to members and improve financial resilience.
Sameera currently serves as a Non-Executive Director of Leeds Credit Union, one of the largest in the UK with more than 35,000 members. She also chairs Beckfoot Allerton School Trust, focused on the provision of primary school education in her local community in West Yorkshire.
At home, Sameera is married with two young children. She enjoys quality family time, walks in the outdoors and travelling to new destinations.
Sameera was elected as a Non-Executive Director at the AGM in April 2024.
Chris joined Ecology in September 2023 as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), bringing with him over 15 years’ experience working within financial services and building societies.
Chris previously held CFO roles at Darlington Building Society and Beverley Building Society and also worked at PwC, providing assurance services to financial institutions.
Chris lives with his wife, three young children and dalmatian, near Darlington. When not at work Chris enjoys spending time with his family, watching sport, running with his dog and open water swimming.
Speaking about his appointment, Chris said:
“I’m really delighted to be joining Ecology at such a pivotal and exciting time. Ecology has focused on supporting sustainable lending since it was formed over 40 years ago and that’s more important and relevant than ever as the UK faces significant challenges in transforming its housing stock to support a greener future. I am looking forward to helping Ecology deliver its ambitious plans and supporting more people achieve their goals in sustainable living.”
Jaedon has spent much of his career working in financial services, most recently as Chief Customer Officer at Leeds Building Society.
Supporting the national housing agenda, Jaedon brings extensive experience in consumer regulated industries, housing, and financial services. He is routinely consulted as an independent adviser to the Bank of England, the Government, developers, and trade bodies. He is also Non-Executive Director at Leeds Federated Housing Association and Deputy Chair of his local allotment community interest company.
Jaedon was elected as a Non-Executive Director at the AGM in April 2023.
Gareth joined Ecology as Chief Executive in June 2022. Prior to this he was Head of Retail Banking at Triodos Bank. He has also held leadership roles at RAC and HSBC after beginning his banking career with former mutual, Bradford and Bingley.
He believes that Ecology’s mission has never been more relevant, with the need to address the climate crisis, deepening financial inequalities and transforming the UK’s housing stock at the heart of the sustainability challenge. His aim is that the Society plays an even greater part in addressing these issues to create a sustainable future while supporting the Ecology team to continue to deliver award-winning service for members.
Gareth is a keen triathlete, having completed a number of middle distance triathlons, in his spare time he enjoys getting out to his local nature reserve with his family.
As well as being Chief Executive, Gareth was elected to the Ecology Board at the AGM in April 2023.
Louise is a climate change actuary and risk specialist with thirty years of experience in actuarial consulting, software development and academia, having worked with a variety of clients in the public and private sectors. She has worked on emerging risks, risks to cities, and how insurers can support resilience to climate risks and has recently been focusing on how actuarial concepts can help thinking around carbon emissions and offsets. Louise is Immediate Past President of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment, and Chair of the London Climate Change Partnership.
Giovanni is an IT professional with over 25 years of experience in technology, digital transformation and cyber security.
In addition to his role at Ecology as a Non-Executive Director, Giovanni continues to hold the role of CEO at Doosan Digital Innovation Europe (DDIE), an IT company providing application management, infrastructure, digitalisation and cyber security services.
Giovanni also held positions as a management consultant in both the USA and the UK at PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting and more recently at IBM implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions, Supply Chain Transformation, and other custom application solutions.
Giovanni joined the Ecology Board to support the transformation required to achieve the goals of the 2030 Strategy. He brings his experience of technology and process innovation to support the Society to become more agile against the backdrop of shifting member needs.
In his spare time, Giovanni is a keen athlete, enjoys gardening, playing chess and reading books.
Giovanni was elected as a Non-Executive Director at the AGM in April 2023.
