Mark has more than 40 years experience in the financial services sector and has operated at Director/CEO level for the last 30 years in both plc and private businesses in the UK and internationally. He is a former CEO of St James’s Place plc and has also had a spell on secondment as the CEO of Virgin Direct. Prior to this he was a Director of Henderson Investors plc and a consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton.
Mark has worked as an independent non executive director for the last 15 years. He is a non executive director of Coutts & Co. Previous appointments include Deputy Chairman/senior independent director at Skipton Building Society, Deputy Chair of GB Snowsports, Chair of MyCSP Ltd the civil service pension administrator and Chairman of Equiniti’s regulated financial services business.
Mark has a Masters degree in Transport Economics from the University of Leeds..
Helen joined Connells Group as CEO in September 2024, bringing extensive leadership experience from her successful track record of managing large, diverse organisations. Prior to this, she served as Managing Director of Stonegate Group, the UK’s largest pub company, where she led teams across circa 850 sites and multi-formats, driving significant profit growth and overseeing several successful acquisitions.
Helen also has a strong foundation in the estate agency sector, having been Managing Director of Your Move. There, she developed and implemented a strategic three-year plan that transformed the customer experience and exceeded profit expectations.
A passionate advocate for people, Helen places great emphasis on employee satisfaction, fostering career development, leading inclusive teams and driving performance and profit.
As Chief Finance & Commercial Officer, Richard is responsible for the Group’s finance, procurement and premises teams, including Health and Safety, as well as overseeing all corporate activity.
He is passionate about delivering a great service to our customers, both internally and externally, and sees the implementation of new technology to be key in improving the customer journey throughout the property transaction, whether that be sales, lettings or the provision of financial services.
Richard joined Connells Group as Chief Finance & Commercial Officer in 2014. Prior to that he spent over 20 years at our parent company, Skipton Building Society, where he held the role of Group Finance Director from 2002 until 2014. He has extensive experience of delivering mergers, acquisitions and disposals throughout his career, including the acquisition of Countrywide plc by Connells Group and the disposal of our 67% shareholding in TM Group, both in 2021. His many years of involvement within both Connells Group and the Skipton Group have given him a thorough knowledge of the business.
As Chief Operating Officer, Chris has overall responsibility for operations across the Group’s Estate Agency, Lettings, Mortgage Services, New Homes and Conveyancing businesses, as well as our central contact centre.
Central to Chris’ work is his passion for people, and he has a strong focus on empowering our colleagues, driving diversity and embedding a positive culture across all areas of the business.
Having joined the property industry in 2008, Chris has spent 10 years with Connells Group in roles ranging from Area Manager to Operations Director. Chris has also held a number of external roles in the estate agency industry including as a director of two estate agencies, and more recently as Chief Commercial Officer for Yopa, where he set up Financial Services for the business.
Penny was appointed as Chief Risk Officer for Connells Group (subject to regulatory approval) in February 2025. She oversees the Group’s operational risk, compliance (monitoring and policy), financial crime, and data protection functions.
Penny’s approach puts people at the heart of our agenda, and she believes in empowering colleagues to drive the delivery of good customer outcomes.
Prior to joining Connells Group, Penny spent more than 20 years at our parent company Skipton Group, where she has held senior leadership roles in Internal Audit, Compliance and was most recently Head of Customer Outcomes. Penny was also the business owner of the consumer duty project, steering the business through the new regulatory framework which came into force in 2023. As a result of her time at Skipton Group, Penny has a deep understanding of Connells Group's complex structure and the risks that come with being a large organisation with regulated financial products.
As Group Lender Services Managing Director, Adrian oversees our Mortgage Services, Surveying and Asset Management businesses, and is responsible for the development of our important lender relationships and managing our regulatory responsibilities.
A key focus for Adrian is ensuring a customer-centric approach is at the heart of Lender Services, delivering a quality service that stretches across both our customer- and lender-facing businesses. With customers at the forefront, Adrian also chairs the Group’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Steering Committee, charged with driving forward the Group’s ongoing commitment to being a responsible business.
Having joined Connells Group in 2011, Adrian was previously the Group’s Mortgage Services Director, and prior to that, he held roles as Head of Lending at Kent Reliance, Managing Director at Heritable Bank Mortgages and Director of Mortgage Distribution for Bradford & Bingley.
Chloe joined Connells Group as Chief People Officer in May 2025, stepping into her first Chief Officer role in a business of our scale.
Having worked in Retail, Food, Healthcare and Media, Chloe believes that to understand people is to understand business. She thrives on developing modern and progressive people strategies which underpin business strategies, and has led people teams to successful delivery in both the UK and globally.
Chloe has 18 years of extensive experience in complex, global, matrixed, and portfolio organisations, previously working with big brands such as McDonald’s Restaurants, Johnson & Johnson, McCain Foods and Wincanton. A change-maker, a life-long learner, a Tavistock trained Executive Coach, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, she finds purpose in making a meaningful positive difference to the experience of work for our 14,000+ colleagues.
Andrew joined Connells Group as a Non-Executive Director in June 2025.
Having worked in financial services for over 35 years, he brings a strong focus on customer-centric strategy, regulatory and operational risk, and leading structural and cultural transformation initiatives.
Andrew currently serves as a non-executive director at Skipton Group and The New Homes Group, so has a comprehensive understanding of Connells Group’s complex structure, as well as significant experience in Estate Agency, New Homes and Mortgages. He was formerly an Executive Director and CEO of Money at Skipton Building Society, and has held key senior roles at a number of other large banks and financial institutions, including Lloyds Bank and Halifax.
Ash joined Connells Group as a Non-Executive Director in June 2025.
He has a wealth of experience in the UK financial services industry, and a strong background in risk management, mergers and acquisitions, and large-scale change programmes.
With more than 20 years of working in financial services, Ash currently serves as a non-executive director and Chair of the Risk Committee at Monument Bank and GB Bank. His previous experience includes senior roles across a range of banks and building societies, most recently holding the position of Chief Financial Officer at Redwood Bank, as well as key roles at West Bromwich Building Society, Nottingham Building Society, Al Rayan Bank and Alliance & Leicester.