Phillip Wale, Chief Executive Officer

Phillip began his career in UK Gilt Edged & convertible bonds, spending ten years at Goldman Sachs in New York and then London, as co-head of pan-European equities. He managed the equity businesses at Commerzbank and then at Knight Securities, where he was appointed European CEO. In 2004 he moved into fund management as CIO of a multi-strategy hedge fund, returning to the sell-side in 2007 with Collins Stewart working closely with the expansion of the wealth management product. Phillip joined Seymour Pierce, the corporate & institutional broker and wealth manager, in 2010 and was appointed its Chief Executive Officer in 2011. Between 2012 and 2016 he was Chief Executive Officer of Panmure Gordon & Co. Prior to joining WHIreland in August 2018, Phillip was Head of Fixed Income (Europe) at Cantor Fitzgerald Europe.

Simon Jackson, Chief Finance Officer

Simon was Finance Director of Saunderson House Limited from January 2019 until March 2021, prior to its acquisition by Rathbone Brothers Plc, having previously been Group Finance Director of Brooks Macdonald Group plc from November 2000 to April 2018. In both roles he helped implement both organic and inorganic growth strategies whilst building finance capabilities that are essential to meet the increasing requirements of a growing, regulated business in public markets. Simon’s time at Brooks Macdonald included its admission to trading on AIM in 2005; between 2005 and 2017, Brooks Macdonald grew its funds under management from £371m to £11.7bn. Simon qualified as a chartered accountant with Macintyre Hudson, and spent 10 years with Rutland Trust plc, in a variety of senior finance roles, prior to joining Brooks Macdonald.

Simon Moore, Independent Non-Executive Chair (subject to FCA Approval)

Simon has over thirty years’ experience of the banking industry, primarily with Chase Manhattan Bank, in London and New York, and Barclays between 2004 and 2011 where he was the regional director for the corporate banking activities in Wales and the South West of England. He is currently chairman of LV Financial Services, the UK life insurance mutual. He is also chairman of RCI Bank UK, the UK arm of the French bank RCI Groupe, part of the Renault Group. Simon was a director of Cambridge and Counties Bank from its foundation in 2012 and chairman from 2015, retiring in 2022. From 2013 to 2016, he served as the International Director of the Confederation of British Industry. Simon was a director, and latterly chairman of Pennant International Group PLC between 2015 and 2021.

Outside banking and industry, Simon has served as a governor of the University of the West of England and is now a trustee of the Wallscourt Foundation, which acts to promote the student experience and teaching objectives of the university. In addition, Simon is a lay member of the Audit and Risk Committee of the Recruitment and Employers Confederation and a former non-executive director of the Government Office of the South West.

Garry Stran, Non-Executive Director

Garry is a financial services professional having had a variety of roles in listed, owner managed, state and private equity controlled businesses. He has extensive experience across financial services with a focus on credit risk management, operation transformation and M&A. Garry was with Nationwide Building Society from 1992 to 2004 as a senior executive and a member of Retail Credit Committee. Since then he has worked extensively in private equity as both a founder, CEO, NED and Chairman. From 2014 to 2019, Garry was a non-executive director of Computershare Loan Services Ltd, which included chairing the Audit and Compliance Committee for part of that time. In 2020, he joined PCF Bank from a leading fintech lender where he played a key role in supporting their rapid growth plans. Garry is a Member of the Institute of Credit Management (MICM) and holds the Finance and Leasing Diploma.