Sesame Bankhall Group confirms senior team to lead the business

Sesame Bankhall Group (SBG) today confirms the Board and Executive Management Team to lead the business following the completion of its strategic review.
The SBG Board continues to be led by Executive Chairman, John Cowan, working alongside Non-Executive Directors Diana Miller and Nick Criticos. Following the retirement of Jim Newman, David Burlison has been appointed to the SBG Board as Strategic Implementation Director, subject to approval by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). David has 20 years industry experience and is a partner at KPMG.
SBG’s Executive Management Team comprises:
• John Cowan, Executive Chairman
• Stephen Gazard, Managing Director
• Julie Sadler, Compliance & Risk Officer (subject to FCA approval)
• Jim Kelly, Commercial Director
• Lisa Winnard, HR & Business Services Director
Stephen Gazard takes on a wider remit in the new structure with responsibility for leading SBG’s support for advisers across wealth and mortgages. The Group will continue to bolster Bankhall’s support for wealth advisers, with a greater range of services to help firms respond to the changes and opportunities in the at-retirement market.
To support Stephen in running the Group’s mortgage proposition, Lisa Martin, who is currently Director of Operations & Sales and has 27 years’ experience in the mortgage arm of the business, takes on an expanded role as Director of Mortgages. Lisa will also continue to lead the experienced team in PMS which built the market-leading PMS Mortgage Club.
Head of Member & Customer Support, Stuart Davies, who has worked in the industry for over 20 years, takes on a wider remit as Director of Network Operations working alongside Lisa.
Jim Kelly takes on a new expanded role as the Group’s Commercial Director, which will combine his previous Finance Director duties with responsibilities for legal, customer relations and supporting Stephen Gazard and Lisa Martin in growing the mortgage business. Head of Commercial Development, Steve Cox, who has 25 years’ experience in the financial services industry and currently works in SBG’s mortgage business, takes on a new group wide role supporting Jim.
John Cowan, SBG Executive Chairman, said: “We are pleased to welcome David to the Board. His expertise will be valuable to us as we simplify our business model and implement the Group’s new strategy. In addition, the creation of several new expanded roles within our leadership team reflects the depth of experience and expertise we have within our business, and will ensure that we remain focused on delivering the best possible support to advisers.
“I am excited to be leading this strong and talented management team and we look forward to delivering quality services to both wealth and mortgage advisers. The outlook for both our markets and our profession is incredibly positive, so a key objective for us is to ensure that we continue to place customers at the centre of all our activities as we implement our plan to continue to build a successful and sustainable business.
John added: “On behalf of the Group I would also like to thank Jim Newman, John Cupis, Jon Dear and Pan Andreas for their valuable contribution during their time with the business. We wish them well for the future.”