Leeds Building Society appoints Annette Barnes as permanent CEO after comprehensive recruitment process, with core technology overhaul ahead

Leeds Building Society has appointed Annette Barnes as its permanent chief executive after a comprehensive recruitment process. Following serving as interim CEO since June 2025, having stepped in when predecessor Richard Fearon took time out for family reasons. The appointment, announced ahead of the Society’s AGM at Leeds Marriott Hotel on 23 April, gives the UK’s fifth largest building society a confirmed leadership structure as it enters a major technology transformation programme. Annette Barnes is also the first woman to hold the role in the mutual’s 151-year history.

Why This Matters For Leeds

Leeds Building Society is one of the city’s anchor financial institutions — the UK’s fifth largest building society, with £32 billion in assets, one million members, and 1,000 staff at its Albion Street headquarters. Additionally with a planned core technology platform replacement ahead, the timing of the appointment ahead of next week’s AGM gives members a confirmed leadership team to vote on.

35 years of experience

Annette Barnes brings more than 35 years of experience in financial services. She previously served as CEO of Lloyds Bank Private Banking and held senior positions at Bank of America and MBNA before joining Leeds Building Society’s board as an independent non-executive director in 2019. The Society says her background in customer engagement, leadership, and technology gives her strong commercial and strategic skills, along with what it describes as excellent transformation and change capabilities. That transformation experience will be central to her role: Leeds Building Society is currently planning to replace its core technology platform, a major undertaking for any financial institution

“I am honoured to have been permanently appointed as the CEO of Leeds Building Society. Whilst becoming a permanent CEO again was not the plan last year, having worked directly with the board and our wonderful colleagues for the last nine months, I couldn’t have been more pleased to be asked to put myself forward alongside other candidates.”

— Annette Barnes, CEO, Leeds Building Society

The Timing and What Comes Next

The announcement comes a week before the society’s AGM, giving members a confirmed permanent leadership structure to vote on. Chair Brendan McCafferty said Annette Barnes had provided strong leadership during her interim period and that the board was confident the society remained well-placed to deliver its purpose and strategy. Leeds Building Society is the UK’s fifth largest building society with assets of £32 billion and one million members. The Society employs 1,700 people, with around 1,000 based at its Albion Street headquarters in Leeds city centre, and created 132 new head office jobs last year.