Yorkshire Building Society has hired Simon Watson (pictured) as its chief commercial officer, and he will be taking over from Tom Simpson.
He will start in the role at Yorkshire Building Society on 1 May.
Simpson has been the interim CCO since David Morris left the firm to become the head of homes at Santander UK.
Watson joins from NatWest, where he worked for around four years, most recently as the managing director for affluent banking and investing.
Prior to that, he was at RBS for nearly a decade, initially as the head of community affairs. He then worked his way up to become the managing director for personal banking for RBS and Ulster Bank Northern Ireland.
Watson has also worked as a committee member and course director for Oxford University for Business Economics Programme, and has been a director of developments at Barnado’s and a senior adviser for the Prince’s Trust.
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He has also been chairperson for RoosterMoney and non-executive director for FreeAgent.
Susan Allen, chief executive of Yorkshire Building Society, said: “Simon combines creative, commercial and strategic expertise with a strong focus on colleague and customer engagement.
“He understands and shares our vision for the society and I am confident he will help drive our success as we continue to grow and support more people to find a place to call home and build financial wellbeing.”
Watson added: “It’s clear to me that Yorkshire Building Society has a proud history, great customer engagement, and committed colleagues.
“It is a mutual with ambitious plans to grow and help more people, and I’m thrilled at the opportunity to be part of the team that shapes its next chapter.”
Yorkshire Building Society recently appointed Holly Rankin as its chief people officer.
The mutual’s latest results showed that its gross mortgage lending came to £5.2bn in the first six months of the year, a rise from £4.2bn.
