Financial mutual firm Scottish Friendly said it has appointed John McGuigan as its new chair, as well as announcing two new non-executive directors.
McGuigan also currently holds the position of chair of Scottish Financial Enterprise, chair of Scottish Rugby Ltd and Chair of Faculty at executive coaching firm Merryck & Co.
McGuigan was previously Group Customer Director at Phoenix and prior to that, MD of Telefonica and CEO of NHS 24.
Last week, Scottish Friendly reported record sales of £51.1 million annual premium equivalent (APE) for 2023, up from £47.7 million in 2022 .
The mutual’s assets under management increased from £4.5 billion in 2022 to £4.6 billion in 2023 and the number of Scottish Friendly members increased by 24,000 to 838,000 over the same period. Scottish Friendly currently administers almost two million policies.
“John takes over from David Huntley as chair who has given more than a decade of service to Scottish Friendly as a board member since 2013 and holding the position of chair for the past four years,” said Scottish Friendly.
“In addition, Scottish Friendly has also appointed Mai Fenton and Olive Gaughan as non-executive directors.
“Mai and Olive bring a wealth of experience and knowledge, at a c-suite executive level, across the investment and insurance sectors.
“Mai brings direct to customer marketing, digital and e-commerce expertise and currently serves on the board of Henderson International Income Trust plc and is Director of How And When, a company set up to provide advisory and fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) services to start ups and small businesses.
“Prior to this, Mai was CMO at Superscript for four years, developing the digital proposition, building the brand, devising data-led scalable marketing strategies, and contributing to two successful funding rounds.
“In addition, Mai is a Trustee and Chair of the Nomination, Remuneration and HR Committee of Dallaglio RugbyWorks, a social inclusion charity supporting vulnerable young people.
“Olive is a highly experienced actuary and is currently a non-executive director of Canada Life Reinsurance Ireland and a member of the Pensions Council in Ireland, advising the Minister for Social Protection on matters relating to pensions policy.
“Previously, Olive was Director & Head of Actuarial with Mazars, and her earlier career was spent at Prudential and Aviva.”
McGuigan said: “I want to thank David for all his efforts in serving our customers, colleagues, and delegates during his tenure with Scottish Friendly, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavours.
“I look forward to fulfilling role as chair and using my knowledge and experience to help the society continue to grow from strength to strength for our customers.
“Scottish Friendly has a bright future ahead and I am excited to be part of that.
“Scottish Friendly works hard to lead through the passion and diversity of our people.
“Our board of directors is made up of diverse individuals who bring passion, experience, guidance and leadership to Scottish Friendly. I am pleased to announce today, that we are adding even more talent.
“We are delighted to strengthen the team by welcoming Mai and Olive to the board. The breadth of their financial services experience will be a great addition to our already strong Board of non-executive directors.
“We are all focussed on ensuring that we continue to deliver on our purpose of helping our customers and their family achieve financial wellbeing through friendly products and customer care.”