New chair of Monmouthshire Building Society

Monmouthshire Building Society has appointed Marian Evans as its new chair. She succeeds Roger Turner who stepped down following the end of his tenure at the end of last year.

Ms Evans, who has been on the board of the Newport-headquartered mutual since 2021, began her career at NFU Mutual where she became the youngest female sales manager in the UK, looking after a portfolio in excess of £54m by the age of 30.

Following her appointment to head of special risks at Thomas Carroll Plc, she went on to expand her property portfolio and launch her own business consultancy, Elevate BC.

She said : “It will be a privilege to lead the board at Monmouthshire Building Society. The society is steeped in history, with so much to offer in the future too, as we realise our ambitions to enable our digital transformation.

“I look forward to working alongside my colleagues at the Society to continue to deliver our purpose. The society exists to help members, colleagues and communities to thrive, this is what drives us as an organisation and it will be a privilege to help lead that into the future. Many thanks also go to Roger Turner for his wisdom and guidance as chair over the past few years, as well as Trevor Barratt and Liz McKenzie who also left the board at the end of their tenure last year.”

The society has also appointed Sham Jagpal as a non-executive director. He brings with him 34 years of experience gained the financial services sector.

He joined Zopa Bank as group finance director in 2021, where he has helped build and scale a new fintech bank. He has held a number of senior managerial positions including director of finance at Hampshire Trust Bank, head of group finance at Nationwide Building Society, interim group finance controller at Aldermore Bank and senior vice president of Fortress Investment Group.

He said: “I am very much looking forward to working alongside a talented team at Monmouthshire Building Society with such a strong focus on serving local communities. Having the opportunity to make people’s lives better matters to me. Being part of a forward-thinking Society where members come first allows me to give back to the community, helping ensure members’ needs and interests are prioritised and treated with respect.”

Monmouthshire’s chief executive, Will Carroll, said: “We are delighted to welcome Sham to the board and Marian into her new role as Chair. These new appointments will enable us to continue to strengthen our leadership and continue to deliver for our members, colleagues and communities.