Clydesdale appoints new deputy chairman

Clydesdale Bank has announced the appointment of former Alliance & Leicester chief executive David Bennett, as non-executive director and deputy chair of the board.

The Glasgow-based lender said that Mr Bennett, who negotiated and managed A&L’s sale to Santander, will also join the board of parent firm National Australia Group Europe Limited in the same capacity after full regulatory approval for the appointment was granted.

Mr Bennett is currently a non-executive director of Ashmore Group PLC, Paypal Europe Ltd, Jerrold Holdings Ltd and is chair of Homeserve Membership Ltd.

Until March this year he was a non-executive director of Bank of Ireland UK, and he left easyJet plc after 9 years as a non-executive director in September 2014.

Mr Bennett has over 30 years’ experience in banking, having held a range of executive and senior positions in Retail banking both in the UK and overseas, including the USA and Australasia.

He was group finance director of Alliance & Leicester for six years before becoming its group chief executive in 2007 when he negotiated and managed the sale of Alliance & Leicester to Santander.

Following that acquisition, he was appointed to the board of Abbey National as an executive director in 2008, where he was responsible for the combined intermediary mortgage business as well as playing a key role in the integration of Abbey National and Alliance & Leicester.

Jim Pettigrew, Chairman of Clydesdale Bank, said: “We are delighted to welcome someone with David’s in-depth experience of Retail banking to our Boards. Few people have enjoyed as strongly varied and successful a career as David has. His key involvement in some of the most significant changes in banking over the past decade and his first-class business knowledge make him an ideal fit for our ambitious business and the significant and exciting opportunities which lie ahead for us.”

Clydesdale said Mr Bennett’s appointment is the latest step in the further strengthening of the Boards and follows the appointment of David Duffy as CEO in June and Adrian Grace as a non-executive director in January.

Executive director Debbie Crosbie was also appointed as chief operating officer in January while Ian Smith, chief financial officer, also became an executive director in March.