"Nicki and Simon’s expertise and independent perspective will be invaluable at such a transformative time for the Society."
- Simon Owens - British Friendly
British Friendly has announced the appointment of Nicki Webber and Simon Lodge (both pictured above) to the Board as non-executive directors.
In addition to serving on the British Friendly Board, Simon Lodge currently holds a directorship at Canada Life and serves as a trustee of the Epilepsy Research Institute.
In his executive career, Simon served for six years as the chief financial officer for Europe at Canada Life and previously spent eight years as the chief financial officer for the US life business at Zurich Insurance. Earlier in his career, he spent nearly ten years at Police Mutual Assurance Society.
Nicki Webber has around 25 years’ experience working across the financial services sector. She was the commercial director at INSYNERGY Investment Management and has worked in corporate finance advisory and private equity. She is also a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
Nicki also has a background in board governance, having recently served as chair of audit at Westfield Health and chair of people, remuneration and culture at the Marsden Building Society, alongside a variety of non-executive roles in the non-profit and public sectors.
"On behalf of the Board, I am delighted to welcome Nicki and Simon to the British Friendly board," chair Stuart Purdy said. "Having leaders of their quality join is a strong endorsement of our vision, and the Board will greatly benefit from the wealth of experience that they each bring to the Society."
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Simon Owens, CEO, added: "Nicki and Simon’s expertise and independent perspective will be invaluable at such a transformative time for the Society as we execute our strategic plans and scale our propositions and operational capabilities."
Nicki Webber said: "I'm really excited to join the team at British Friendly. It's important to me that I work with member-focused organisations, which aim to make a positive difference in people's lives. Protecting members from financial hardship during periods of illness provides a crucial safeguard."
Simon Lodge said: "I am very excited to be joining the board of British Friendly, an insurer that is really putting its members’ interests at the heart of everything it does."
