Paradigm has appointed Sarah Blackwood, Michael Brown, Neil Jackson and Tom Hunt to the newly created role of business development director.
The move to business development director comes after the merger of Paradigm’s relationship managers and senior relationship managers.
The firm said that change reflects its “commitment to ensuring its staff roles align with the group’s broader business objectives and allows it to maintain the highest level of service for its member firms”.
Paradigm said that the business development directors would “focus on driving strategic growth with new members, and nurturing and continuing to grow and help develop existing member businesses”.
Blackwood will support member firms in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the North East of England, while Brown will cover companies in London and the South East and Jackson will cover the East Midlands, the East of England, North West and Wales.
Hunt will also cover London, as well as the Midlands and the South West.
Blackwood has worked at Paradigm for around two years, initially joining as a senior relationship manager. Before that, she was a business development manager (BDM) at Santander for nearly nine years.
Brown has been a senior relationship manager for nearly three years, and before that, he was a BDM for Skipton Building Society for London. He also held roles at Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB) for around two years.
Jackson has worked at Paradigm for around nine years, and before that, he was a strategic relationship manager at Santander Asset Management for more than five years. Prior to that, he was national account manager at James Hay.
Hunt has been with Paradigm for around seven years, and before that, he was a personal banking manager at Nationwide Building Society for around three years.
Richard Goppy, director of membership at Paradigm, said: “We are very pleased to be announcing these four excellent individuals to our newly created business development director positions.
“Each has proven since joining Paradigm they are excellent in their field and are committed to supporting individual member firms within their respective regions. This move from senior/relationship manager to business development director reflects the changing nature of intermediary support Paradigm is providing and allows us to stay at the forefront of the market, positioning the business to meet our growth objectives and support our members’ evolving needs.
“It also means we can continue to adapt to the market demands while delivering exceptional service to our firms.”
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.
