// Sainsbury’s bank hires Lesley Jones as the new chair
// She is currently a non-executive director of N Brown
// Jones has more than 35 years’ experience in banking
Sainsbury’s has appointed Lesley Jones as the new chair of its bank division after outgoing chair Roger Davis announced his resignation in February.
Jones will join office from January 30, 2021.
She is currently a non-executive director of N Brown and an independent member of Moody’s Investor Services.
READ MORE: Sainsbury’s Bank chairman Roger Davis steps down
Jones has more than 35 years’ experience in banking and was Group Chief Credit Officer at RBS Group plc, between 2008 and 2014.
Prior to RBS, she worked at Citigroup Inc. where she held a range of senior roles in relationship and risk management over a period of 30 years.
“Jones’ extensive experience in banking will be highly valuable to us as we work to deliver the five-year plan we set out at our Capital Markets Day in September 2019,” Sainsbury’s chairman Martin Scicluna said.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Roger for his stewardship over the past seven years.
“He played an important role during the Bank’s transition to its own flexible banking platform and in driving the Bank’s integration with Sainsbury’s.”
Jones added: “I am delighted to be joining Sainsbury’s, whose reputation as a values-led business attracted me to the role.
“I look forward to working with the Sainsbury’s Bank management team and to being part of the wider Sainsbury’s business.”
In November, Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts asked UBS, its corporate broker and financial adviser, to advise it on options for Sainsbury’s Bank.
He had begun exploring a sale of its banking arm it launched in 1997, as low interest rates reduced its prospects of making a recovery from the business.
The bank holds more than two million customers across a range of products including mortgages, home insurance and credit cards.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
