AFM appoints new Chairman and vice-Chairman
The Association of Financial Mutuals appoints new Chairman and vice-Chairman
The member organisations of the Association of Financial Mutuals (AFM) – the trade body that represents mutual insurers, friendly societies and other financial mutuals in the UK – have appointed a new Chairman and Vice-Chairman.
At its Annual General Meeting on 17 October 2012, AFM’s members approved the appointment of Mark Goodale, Chief Executive of Reliance Mutual as Chairman, and of Phil Loney, Group Chief Executive of Royal London as Vice-Chairman.
The appointments were made following the retirement of incumbent Chairman John Reeve. Mr Reeve stands down as Chief Executive of Family Investments at the end of October, after more than thirty years service.
Mark Goodale was previously Vice-Chairman of the AFM and has been Chief Executive of Reliance Mutual since July 2006, where he has led the Society’s strategy to grow its membership through a mix of providing specialist products to customer niches and acquisitions of selected portfolios of life and pensions policies from other insurers, particularly fellow mutuals and friendly societies.
Mark Goodale, Chairman of the Association of Financial Mutuals commented:“I’m delighted to become the latest Chairman of AFM. Over the last few years, the media spotlight has regularly focused on the failings of some of our largest financial PLCs and there is a growing consensus that big business needs to operate more transparently and responsibly to rebuild consumer trust. During this time, mutuals have quietly continued to work closely with their customers to provide a better experience of financial services. This is an important time for financial mutuals that look after the needs of 20 million people and offer a real alternative to the PLCs. With the support of government and with appropriate regulation, the financial mutual sector can do so much to restore public confidence in our industry.”
Phil Loney was appointed to the Board of Royal London Group on 3 October 2011, coinciding with his appointment as Group Chief Executive of Royal London Group. He previously spent eight years at Lloyds Banking Group, most recently as Managing Director, Life, Pensions and Investments.
Commenting on his appointment, Phil said: "I am very pleased to have been appointed Vice-chair of AFM. As a relative newcomer to the AFM Board, I have been impressed by the enthusiasm and single-mindedness with which AFM works for a successful mutual insurance sector. AFM represents a diverse group of mutual insurers but I believe that there is a single unifying factor at work – the desire to deliver a better deal for members of mutuals. I look forward to working with the new Chairman and the other members of the Board to influence the market environment to make this happen."