Voted for
by our members
(aka our customers).

Appointed to the Board in August 2022 as Board Chair and Independent Non-Executive Director.

Peter has served in both executive and non-executive roles in the regulated environment and brings with him a strong background in leadership. He is a Chartered Accountant by profession and has taken the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School.

Peter is currently the Chair of the Dudley Building Society.

Being a Chartered Accountant by profession, Peter has worked at Ernst & Young and Kidsons. Peter is the former Non-Executive Chair at Co-operative Insurance. Former Non-Executive Director of Q-Metric, The Chartered Insurance Institute, Keoghs, AXA PPP and AXA Art. He has held senior executive positions as Group Chief Executive for the UK General Group of businesses; Chief Executive of AXA Insurance and Managing Director of e-commerce at Lloyd’s Banking Group and Planning and Strategy Director at Lloyds Retail Bank.

Appointed to the Board in September 2016 and as Senior Independent Non-Executive Director and Deputy Chair in July 2023.

Helen brings a wealth of experience from the life and pensions industry. She is highly regarded for her astute commercial acumen coupled with her extensive leadership, operations and stakeholder management expertise.

Helen is Trustee & Chair of the Member Experience Committee for the Legal & General Master
Trust.

Helen worked for many years at Aegon UK, where she held a number of key positions, including Head of International Sales, Commercial Director and Director of Banks and Partnerships. After leaving Aegon,
Helen also held executive roles at smaller master trust companies and specialist fintechs
which fueled her passion for ensuring more people understand the value of protection,
investment, and pension planning. Helen was previously Chief Pensions Officer at USS (the
largest private pension fund in the UK) where her responsibilities included all aspects of
delivery and development of employer and member pensions servicing (including operations, insight, communications, product design, proposition, change and transformation).

Kelvin was appointed to the Board in August 2023 as an Independent Non-Executive Director.

Kelvin has over 20 years in the financial services industry. He has expertise in business strategy, proposition development, analytics, executive coaching, and acts as an advisor to established and start-up firms.

Kelvin is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee at Teachers Building Society.

Kelvin has served as an independent Non-Executive Director with Tune Protect Group, one of Asia’s largest travel insurers and has chaired the Risk Committee there. In his executive career, Kelvin has held a number of roles within his career in the financial services industry including Retail Bank Strategy Director at Lloyds Banking Group, the Group Strategy Director at LV and has also launched businesses in personal loans and direct-to- consumer life insurance.

Suzanne was appointed to the Board in August 2023 as Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee.

Suzanne has over 30 years of internal audit and risk management experience in the financial services industry. She is a qualified and skilled chartered accountant who is also a chartered member of the Chartered Securities and Investment Institute.

Suzanne is Non-Executive Director and Audit Committee Chair at HBL UK Bank and at Recognise Bank.

Prior to joining The Exeter, Suzanne was the Chief Internal Auditor at Peel Hunt, a UK Investment Bank, and has held senior roles at the Bank of England along with several other financial institutions including Chief Internal Auditor at the Yorkshire Building Society.

Suzanne is a former Non-Executive Director of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Donald was appointed to the Board in May 2024 as Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Governance and Risk Committee in June 2024.

Donald has over 20 years’ experience in financial services, most recently with the UK Life insurance arm of Corebridge Financial, formerly AIG Life. There, at various times he held the roles of Chief Financial Officer, Chief Actuary and Managing Director. Donald has a strong commercial focus as well as strategic and financial acumen.

Donald is director of Tyndale House and Institute.

Donald has held positions within the finance industry, including Aviva, Engage Mutual Assurance, Reinsurance Group of America, and HSBC, including the Chief Actuary role at HSBC Life. Donald was also a member of the Actuarial Profession Health and Care Board, a member of the CMI Assurances Committee, and a former visiting lecturer at Bayes Business School (University of London).

James was appointed to the Board in February 2026 as an Independent Non-Executive Director.

James has served in top level executive roles in the Global Life & Health Insurance sector for the last 25 years, working across the full value chain from underwriting to claims management, operations to financial management, and leading large-scale transformations of technology and organisations.  James is a qualified member of the Chartered Insurance Institute and Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UK, and is a Board Management alumni of the IMD business school in Switzerland.

James spent the last 18 years at Swiss Re, the World’s 2nd largest reinsurer, and the World’s largest underwriter of Life & Health risk.  From 2011, James was variously Chief Operating Officer of the global Reinsurance business, Head of the In-force Life & Health business globally, and Chief Transformation Officer for the Group.  Through these roles James built huge experience in technology, end-to-end business operations and transformation, leading large diverse teams, financial management, developing and improving governance, and managed many of the most technical parts of an insurance business across underwriting, pricing, valuation and claims.

Before Swiss Re, James held a broad range of management roles in the reinsurance business of General Electric, and in subsidiaries of ING and Legal & General.

Isobel was appointed Chief Executive in April 2021.

Isobel has over 30 years of experience in the insurance industry. She is passionate about the vital role the protection and health industry provides in ensuring that people have the financial resilience to withstand some of the worst things life can throw our way. Isobel has a drive for excellent customer service and identifies its value in ensuring great outcomes.

Isobel is a fellow of the Royal Society of Art and a Trustee of the Lusitano Breed Society GB.

Isobel has a wealth of experience in the protection and pension industry having held several senior positions at both Irish Life and Royal London. A move to Royal London allowed Isobel to build her passion for Customer Services where she held a number of senior positions and successfully integrated the customer service functions of Royal London and United Assurance Group. In 2014 Isobel was appointed Chief Executive of their Intermediary Division, where she created and implemented strategy for both the protection and pension business, leading them through a period of significant success.

Steve was appointed as Director of Distribution and Marketing in July 2017.

Steve has spent his entire career in the Financial Services sector. He has a degree in Economics and Accountancy from the University of Leeds and brings to our Board his experience across the Protection, General Insurance, Mortgage and Healthcare markets.

Steve is a Board Member of the Association of Financial Mutuals (AFM).

Steve’s long career in the Financial Services sector saw him join The Exeter following a 20-year tenure at Legal & General where he held several senior roles across the General Insurance and Protection divisions, culminating in Steve heading up Intermediary distribution across both disciplines. Beginning his career postgraduate with Lloyds Bank, Steve specialises in the development and execution of strategy with a specialism in Intermediary Distribution and Marketing.

Suzy was appointed Chief Operating Officer in April 2025 and joined the Board in February 2026.

Suzy has extensive experience in operational leadership and strategic transformation within the insurance industry. Suzy is passionate about delivering exceptional customer service and member experiences and driving innovation to ensure sustainable growth. Suzy combines strong governance and risk awareness with a collaborative approach that empowers teams and delivers measurable outcomes aligned to long-term strategic ambitions.

Suzy joined The Exeter after serving as Chief Operating Officer and Board Member at Holloway Friendly, following an extensive career at Capita within their Life and Pensions division. Suzy has held senior leadership roles across insurance operations and brings a wealth of expertise in delivering exceptional customer experiences, overseeing claims management, underwriting, and transformational change. Suzy’s career demonstrates a consistent focus on operational excellence, strategic transformation, and building high-performing, committed teams that deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Michael joined the Society as Commercial Director in October 2023, and was appointed as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Actuary in June 2024.

Michael has over 30 years experience in the Insurance, Asset Management, and Wealth Management industries. He is a qualified actuary and has held numerous senior positions throughout his career.

Michael currently holds a Non-Executive Director role at Glasgow Clyde College.

Michael joined The Exeter from KPMG where he served as Director in the Insurance Consultant practice. Michael has previously held roles as Customer & Innovations COO and Customer Distributions CFO at M&G, a Portfolio Actuarial and Operations Director at Prudential Assurance, in addition to time at fellow mutual Scottish Friendly where he was Actuarial Director. He has previously held Non-Executive Director roles at M&G Wealth Advice LTD, Prudential International Assurance, and was a member of Prudential’s Independent Governance Committee.

Willie is the Medical Director and was appointed to the Board in April 2005.

Willie qualified in Medicine from the University of Bristol in 1982 and has an extensive research career focusing mainly on improving cancer diagnosis.

Willie is the Professor of Primary Care Diagnostics at the University of Exeter Medical School. Willie has also been the Chief Medical Officer for Liverpool Victoria for over twenty years.

Willie has a rich career in medical research and has received several accolades during his distinguished career. He has won Research Paper of the Year twice and has written two textbooks, one on orthopaedics and the second on cancer, the latter winning a British Medical Association prize. He was the clinical lead for a NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guideline NG12, on an investigation of suspected cancer, and sits on several Department of Health Committees relevant to cancer. In 2019 Willie was awarded a CBE in the New Year's Honours list for his ‘services to improving early cancer diagnosis’.