New senior faces welcomed

Updated: 28 Jan 2025

Five senior appointments have recently been made at the Oddfellows, which includes Unity Mutual, our financial services brand.

Delivering a difference

The roles are a mix of new and existing positions designed to help the Society continue to deliver against its ambitious plans for growth and service improvement, and to support the existing senior leadership and management teams.

Welcoming the influx of fresh experience, CEO of the Oddfellows, Jane Nelson, said: “This is an extremely exciting time for our organisation.

“Our new appointments give us a renewed vigour to continue at pace on our mission to improve the quality of life of our 388,000 members and policy holders and make a difference within our wider communities.”

“The combined experience and expertise we’ve brought into the organisation marks a step forward and will help to further galvanise the hard work of our Branch network and member volunteers.

“Hearing our new colleagues’ collective passion for making a difference to our members and wider society through our services rings true with our organisational values, and I look forward to seeing the new heights we can achieve together,” added Jane.

The new hires cover financial services, branch development, care and welfare services and marketing communications, and are based at the Society’s central office in Manchester.

New leadership for Unity Mutual

Ben Pears brings 25 years’ extensive experience in financial services to the role as the new Insurance Director, where he is excited to make a real difference to future generations and put customers first.

Pictured: Ben Pears, Insurance Director

He said: “I’m looking forward to my new position at Unity Mutual as their ethos aligns with what is important to me in my work – ensuring that we put our customers at heart of everything we do, creating products for them and not for shareholder profit.”

Ben follows in the footsteps of Steve Code, who joined the Oddfellows in 2011 as the Insurance Director and has now retired following a 45-year career in financial services.

Steve reflected on his time with the Oddfellows. He said: “What an incredible journey it’s been, from launching Unity Mutual as a new financial services brand, through to the development of new products, and achieving growth through acquisitions and new business, while ensuring the successful implementation of new regulatory requirements.

“I have been incredibly lucky to have worked with many fantastic people who have shared my vision to deliver excellent customer service, growth and good returns for the benefit of our customers.”

Optimising investment strategies

Bringing nearly 30 solid years of experience in financial services, Keith Ashcroft is newly appointed as Finance Director. He joins the Society from Healthy Investments, where he gained five years’ experience in investment assets, business growth, and risk functions.

Pictured: Keith Ashcroft, Finance Director

He said: “I’m thrilled to join the Oddfellows and I look forward to supporting the organisation’s growth through optimising our investment strategies.”

Keith is also a member of the Oddfellows’ Commercial Board and Audit Risk and Compliance Committee.

Building branch infrastructure

A valued existing member of the Oddfellows team for nearly 10 years, Sarah Hopwood has been promoted to the newly-created role of Head of Branch Development. She will play a vital part in the efforts to grow and strengthen the organisation’s branch infrastructure, which currently stands at 103 branches nationwide.

Pictured: Sarah Hopwood, Head of Branch Development

Sarah said: “Having worked for the Oddfellows for almost a decade, seeing the progress we’ve made as an organisation and the commitment our branches have shown in supporting their members, gives me the motivation to keep pushing forward.

“As the world changes, we change with it. It’s important that we don’t sit still and I’m delighted to support our transformation efforts within this newly-created role.”

Strengthening member wellbeing support

Responsible for the management and delivery of care and welfare services for members, John Aitken has been appointed Head of Care and Welfare. The welfare helpline, legal aid and carer support all come under his portfolio.

Pictured: John Aitkin, Head of Care and Welfare

“I’m proud to be involved with such a vital function for members,” John said. “I plan to use my experience to refine our services and connect the department to national and local initiatives to improve health and wellbeing, and ensure branches and members get the best care and welfare support.”

John takes over the role from Mary Atkinson. Mary continues to support the team in a part-time capacity as a Care and Welfare Officer.

Developing strategic communications

Joining from the NHS, where she headed up communications to spread innovations and improvements across England’s health and care system, Jayne Holgate is bringing her skills in strategic communications to the newly-created role of Head of Marketing Communications.

Pictured: Jayne Holgate, Head of Marketing Communications

Jayne said: “When I was presented with the opportunity to join the Oddfellows I grabbed it with both hands. I feel a strong sense of duty to support older people in our society to get the best out of life, so to work for an organisation where that is at the core made it the perfect role for me.

“Marketing and communications as a strategic function works in collaboration and unison with all of the other departments in the organisation and it’s great to see so much appetite for this at the Oddfellows – enabling us to deliver the very best support offer to our members and future members.”

To learn more about the Oddfellows and our governance, visit our About us section.