SKIPTON Building Society has appointed a long-time Ilkley resident as its new Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer.

Kris Brewster steps up to the role on an interim basis after most recently heading up the building society’s strategy, sustainability, and corporate communications teams.

Kris – who lives in Ilkley with his wife Emily and their two young daughters – joined the Society in 2010 as Head of Products and has since helped Skipton to develop into a Times Top 25 Best Company to Work For, and the 7th-ranked UK business for customer experience.

Kris is also Chair of Skipton’s Sustainability Steering Group, a dedicated panel of senior leaders overseeing the Society’s stretching social and environmental commitments.

On his appointment, Kris said: “Stepping up as Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer at Skipton is a really exciting opportunity for me, and I’m grateful that Skipton continues to give me the support and platform to improve and progress our commercial strategy, and deliver value to members.

“During my 12 years at Skipton, I’ve seen so much change inside and outside the Society. The challenging economic and social landscape means we need to work harder than ever to deliver enhanced value and solutions for members. That’s why we’ll be working hard to enable greater levels of homeownership, greening UK homes, and providing increasing returns on savings.

“The Society is in a great place following a strong performance so far in 2022, and I’m extremely proud to work for a Yorkshire born and bred organisation that supports its workforce so well – with the Society announcing earlier this month it will give a £1,500 one-off cost of living payment to all colleagues below senior management level in September’s pay packets. I’m very much looking forward to doing my bit to drive Skipton forward for our colleagues and customers even further.”

Kris started out his career with Dixons at their head office in London, before moving into product management with HSBC, Bradford & Bingley, Santander, and Northern Rock.

He is a Loughborough Business School graduate, and completed an MBA at Bradford Business School in 2012.

Kris is also a Non-Executive Director of Leeds Heritage Theatres.