Judges

With over 30 years’ experience in the mutual sector, Andrew Haigh has an extensive track record in transforming and developing businesses. He has held financial services leadership roles as both an executive and a non-executive dDirector, reinforcing the Board’s depth of consumer understanding. His previous experience is drawn from a variety of sectors including the financial services, technology, automotive and airline industries.

Andrew became the Society’s chief executive in May 2015. A proven chief executive, Andrew has particular strength in building effective leadership teams and organisations with healthy, customer focussed cultures, and proudly drives our Society’s ongoing commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Other roles: Andrew is a Board member of the North East England Chamber of Commerce and a Board member of the Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland.

Andrew said, “I’m hugely passionate about the role of mutuals, focused on delivering a balance of meaningful Member value and profitability, enabling long-term positive impact in our communities.”

Caroline Pullich is managing partner at NFU Mutual based out of Boston Spa covering Yorkshire & is also Group Secretary for NFU.

Caroline is responsible for setting the vision, values and strategy in creating a culture where relationships are built on trust for farmers, growers, businesses, stakeholders and rural communities.

NFU Mutual is a leading provider of general insurance, investments, pensions ,life cover, risk management services & financial services.

Prior to joining NFU Mutual Caroline has 31 years in banking having held senior director leadership roles at Barclays and NatWest.

Caroline is also Chair of Institute of Directors for North Yorkshire, Board member for Maggie’s Yorkshire Cancer Charity and sits on the Leadership Group for Leeds Chamber of Commerce.

Claire has been a dedicated member of the York Insurance Institute council for several years and is currently serving her second terms as President. She takes great pride in her role on council, as it allows her to inspire young individuals to pursue careers in the insurance and financial services sectors, whilst also providing support to those already established in these fields. 

With a career spanning over two decades in financial services, Claire began as an administrator. During this time, she diligently completed her financial planning qualifications, which paved the way for her advancement to a paraplanning role and ultimately to her current position as independent financial planner. 

Claire is deeply committed to helping clients achieve their financial goals and identifying gaps in their financial planning. Her passion for the industry and dedication to her clients are evident in her ongoing efforts to provide exceptional service and guidance.  

Emma has been a member of the Insurance Institute of Leeds council for several years and took over as President in March 2024. Earlier roles on council included chairing the Harrogate committee for two years, and serving as Deputy President of Leeds in 2023.

Emma’s theme for her Presidential year has been ‘consistency’, focussing on continuing the strong professional development offering provided to insurance and financial services members across the region. She has also been raising money for the Leeds South & East Foodbank.

Emma has been shortlisted in the ‘Team Leader of the Year’ category at the 2024 Women in Insurance Awards and is passionate about learning and development of colleagues. She has worked as an insurance broker at Marsh Ltd for 10 years.

Hannah joined LGT following the acquisition of abrdn’s discretionary investment management business in 2023. Hannah has over 8 years of experience in wealth management, joining abrdn from RBC Brewin Dolphin in 2021. Based in our Leeds office, Hannah manages portfolios for private clients, pensions, companies and trusts. 

Hannah has undertaken her Diploma in Wealth Management, is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) and sits as President on the Yorkshire Branch Committee. Hannah also holds the CFA Certificate in ESG investing. In her spare time Hannah enjoys walking the Yorkshire Dales or spending time with family and friends. 

John Godfrey is the Managing Director of Public Affairs, Policy, and Research at TheCityUK. He assumed this role on an interim basis following the General Election, stepping in after his predecessor, Emma Reynolds, was successfully re-elected to Parliament and appointed as Pensions Minister. 

John’s career spans forty years, during which he has worked in City institutions and both central and local government. He began his career in debt and equity capital markets at a Japanese investment bank, followed by a secondment as a Special Adviser (SPAD) to the Home Secretary. Afterward, he returned to the City, taking on Corporate Affairs roles at both a US and a German bank before serving as Corporate Affairs Director and Executive Committee member at Legal & General for 16 years. His work involved policy development and engagement on financial and regulatory matters, as well as investment-led growth, public-private partnerships, demographic change, and urban regeneration across the UK. 

In 2016/17, John took a sabbatical from Legal & General to serve as Head of the Policy Unit at Number Ten Downing Street. He later returned to Legal & General, working as Levelling Up Director. Recognising the importance of local leadership in delivering major investment projects, he spent a year as Interim Executive Director for Housing, Property, and Regeneration at the West Midlands Combined Authority, where he helped unlock over 8,000 homes on brownfield sites by combining government funding with private capital. 

John is a strong advocate for integrated, evidence-based policymaking. He serves as a Financial Inclusion Commissioner and contributes to various commissions and boards focused on health-related issues. He is also the founding Chairman of Business for Health and a board member of the Centre for Ageing Better. 

Kate has been on Council for the Insurance Institute of Leeds and the North East Regional Forum since 2019 originally joining the North East Regional Forum to support and share best practice across the North East Regional council members

For her Presidential year she focused on the theme of “Resilience” following a few years of difficult trading and changes within our workplaces. Kate has supported the team in providing educational events to its Leeds members and also fundraising for Sue Ryder Manorlands.

Within the Presidential Role, Kate supported the organising of the Leeds Annual Dinner, and also attended regional dinners as a top table guest to interact with more institute and allow them to share best practice and work together.

Kate is interested in and looks to support engaging young professionals and new starters into the Financial Services industry and looks to attend and support school and university careers training and sessions

She has recently started a new role at Clear Insurance Management as their Regional Head of Professional Risks where she specialises in Professional Indemnity, Cyber and Management Liability for professional businesses.

Martin Hathaway started his career trading financial futures before moving to Yorkshire in 1995 and working for Leeds Chamber of Commerce. He then became Chief Executive of Yorkshire and Humber Chambers of Commerce in 2000.

Martin joined the Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce in 2014 as Managing Director where he oversees its operations and serves its membership, connecting, supporting and representing organisations across the Halifax, Huddersfield and Wakefield regions.

Outside the Chamber, Martin is Chair of a venture capital company that provides loans and equity investments into SMEs across Yorkshire and was also a founding director of YourRail, the first company to deliver mobile ticketing for the UKs rail industry.

Martin is chair of the West Yorkshire Local Employment Plan, working with businesses to identify their potential future skills gaps, working with Colleges, Schools, universities and private training providers to make sure there is a pipeline of prospective employees

In his spare time Martin enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf and riding his Vespa PX.

Phoebe Webb joined the Harrogate Sub-Committee of the Leeds Insurance Institute in 2017 as Secretary. She is currently serving her second term as Chairperson and was the youngest Chairperson nominated in the 75 year history of the Harrogate Local Committee.

In 2018 Phoebe assisted James Ramirez who was the President of Leeds CII at the time and fellow committee members in creating what is now known as the “Emerging Insurance Professionals” (EIP). Phoebe still sits on the board for EIP and acts as Social Secretary where she helps organise successful events for young members in Leeds and surrounding area.

Being involved with the Chartered Insurance Institute so early in Phoebe’s career helped establish key relationships within the industry and has given her the skills to encourage and mentor our younger members.

Phoebe has recently started a role with Pen Underwriting as the Business Development Manager for the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber.

Shortlisted for Levelling Up Leader by Northern Power Women Awards, Director of the Year by The Institute of Directors and winner of Mentor of the Year by Forward Ladies, Poonam Kaur is an award-winning corporate financier, accountant, and business consultant. 

Trained as a formal accountant and with more than 12 years of experience in corporate finance, Poonam has worked with organisations across a plethora of industries, including worldwide organisations, supporting them with their succession planning (specifically mergers and acquisitions), or on their board via an appointment or through director-level training. 

Her specialisms in director-level training include the role of a company director, good corporate governance, finance for non-finance directors/managers, buying and selling businesses, and the role of a non-executive director. 

Poonam is chief executive officer of fds Director Services, where she leads all projects and director-level training with the support of chair Jo Haigh. She is passionate about helping organisations and directors with their business journeys, whatever stage they may be. 

Richard Adler joined PIMFA (formerly known as the Wealth Management Association or WMA) in January 2017 as Director of Strategic Partnerships.  Now, as Chief Commercial Officer, Richard leads on all aspects of commercial activity within the association, including: membership, business development, relationship management, indices, learning and events.   

Richard has worked in Financial Services for more than 40 years, in a career spanning Stockbroking, Financial Planning ,Custody, Asset Management and Banking.  He has held senior positions including  Relationship Director at the British Bankers Association (BBA) where he was also a Board Director of BBA GOLD Limited, an Operational Loss Risk Platform which he helped convert from a membership business to a Limited Company with profits recorded in its first year.  He was also the Director of Financial & Professional Services at TheCityUK; Director of Institutional Sales at Cofunds, the Funds Platform, and aided the formation of Allfunds Bank in the UK.  

PIMFA (Personal Investment Management and Financial Advice Association) is the UK’s leading trade association for firms that provide investment management and financial advice to individuals, families, charities, pension funds, trusts and companies. Whether we’re advocating for and creating positive regulatory and policy change, connecting people from across the industry, providing hands-on guidance and support, or challenging misconceptions – we are the voice of the personal wealth sector: championing financial health for every individual.  We always  have the interests of our members and their clients at heart and we work to help ensure that the UK remains a financial global centre of excellence. 

Richard is also a Director of PIMFA WealthTech, a company established as part of PIMFA’s strategic planning on digital transformation. In 2023, Richard took the Oxford University FinTech Diploma to reinforce PIMFA’s increasing awareness and involvement in the FinTech ecosystem. 

Robin Fieth joined the Building Societies Association (BSA) as chief executive in December 2013. Previously he was executive director, members and operations at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). Robin originally joined the ICAEW in 2002 as director of finance. During his career, he has also held a number of other senior positions in the corporate sector, including group finance director and company secretary at AIM listed Transacsys plc. He spent the first 10 years of his career with PwC.

The BSA is the voice of building societies in the UK, speaking out on issues relevant to building societies and their members (savers and borrowers). Together, building societies serve over 25 million customers across the UK; have total assets of over £500 billion and have a 23% market share of the residential mortgage market, and 19% share of the savings market.

Robin is a fellow of the ICAEW, a non-executive director of Co-operatives UK and a member of the General Assembly of the European Association of Co-operative Banks. He is married with three grown-up children.

Stephen Wilkinson is a chartered financial planner and life vice president of The Insurance Institute of York. He has worked in insurance and financial planning for 55 years, running a family business established in 1947.  

He is a fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute, Personal Finance Society and Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, He is a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Insurers and a Freeman of the City of London. In 2005 he was awarded a Chartered Insurance Institute Exceptional Service Medal. 

His extensive involvement in professional organisations includes serving as the president of the Insurance Institute of Huddersfield, Insurance Institute of York, and Chair of the Yorkshire Region Personal Finance Society. He is a trustee of the Insurance Museum. Nationally for the Chartered Insurance institute he has served on their Professional Standards Board, Disciplinary and Local Institute Development committees and awards panel.  

Tanya leads the development of the Institute’s portfolio of qualifications, education, and training, ensuring they are supporting the needs of professional bankers globally. Her remit includes delivery of the Institute’s strategic vision with continued growth and utilization of the Institute’s Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) Academy. 

In joining the Institute, Tanya brings over 25 years of banking experience from NatWest and RBS, with skills and capabilities across Learning and Development, Professional Qualifications, Digital enablement, Leadership and most recently CX and EX. She is a certified SAFe 5 Agilist and Executive Coach. 

Tracy is a former City Regulator who joined the CISI in September 2022 from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), where she was leading on the delivery of the SRA’s Corporate Strategy and heading up the Innovation, Regulatory and Education Policy and Research & Analysis teams as part of her portfolio.

Prior to the SRA, Tracy was Executive Director, Strategy and Resources at the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the Regulator of accounting, audit and corporate governance. She led the Strategy and Resources, Risk, HR, Communications and Economics teams, alongside her wider Executive Committee responsibilities. She was the FRC’s Diversity Champion and led on a number of initiatives aimed at boosting diversity on FTSE boards.

Tracy was awarded an OBE in the 2020 New Year Honours list for services to Business and Diversity. Before taking Executive roles in these regulated sectors, Tracy was a Senior Civil Servant in Whitehall. She started as a new graduate, gaining wide experience of developing strategy and policy, delivering new legislation and major public policy campaigns in key economic sectors, such as Competition Policy, Company Law, Financial Services Energy and Equalities legislation.

During her time in Whitehall Tracy was selected for the High Potential Development Programme and was able to undertake several secondments into the private sector. Including to the Co-operative Group, working on the Co-operative Bank recapitalisation, before staying on for a further year to implement wider governance reforms at the Co-operative Group following the late Lord Myners’ review of its corporate governance.

Tracy is currently a Non-Executive Director at Salix Finance and at the Financial Services Skills Commission (FSSC), and she chairs the Regulatory Response Unit (RRU) for LawTechUK. Tracy is also a member of the Cabinet Office’s Major Project Leadership Academy (MPLA) and a member of Oxford University Said Business School and City of London Corporation’s Leaders of Tomorrow alumni groups.