Stuart has previously served at RSA and Aviva and is currently a non-executive director at British Friendly and Scottish Life.

He is passionate about helping organisations deliver impactful and successful strategies, and believes that there is “a very different opportunity at the Beverley”.

“The question we are currently asking ourselves is: ‘How can we make sure our great service remains appropriate for our current and future members, rooted in a place with such a strong sense of community?’” Stuart explained.

“The first thing I noticed when I walked through the door of the Beverley was how well our people here interact with customers, which is really special and reflects the standing the society has within the town of Beverley and its surrounding region.

“Our board wants to ensure we remain very relevant within that community and being part of that process of evolution represents a wonderful opportunity for me.

“At the same time, financial services is changing, and we have an opportunity to move with that.

“We know we will need to become increasingly efficient and offer people options in terms of how they want to continue interacting with us, while keeping our distinctive, personal approach as a member-driven organisation.

“We will keep these important values front and centre as we continue to grow and develop the society.”

Karl Elliott, chief executive at Beverley Building Society, added: “We’re absolutely delighted to welcome such a skilled and experienced new chairman as Stuart on board.

“His knowledge, experience and insight will be invaluable to us and I am very much looking forward to us all benefiting from his guidance, wisdom and leadership in helping us achieve our ambitious goals for the future.”