Vernon Building Society appoints first Chief Customer Officer to support ambitious growth plans

14 April 2026

Vernon Building Society has appointed Louise Thorpe to the newly created role of Chief Customer Officer (CCO), strengthening its executive team as it targets sustainable growth, while keeping member experience at the heart of its strategy.

Louise has over 22 years’ experience in the financial services sector. Starting in the branch network, she developed a strong foundation in frontline banking before progressing into senior roles. In 2022, she joined Darlington Building Society’s executive team where she most recently serves as Chief Customer officer. In that role, she led the organisation’s mortgage and savings channels, along with member experience and marketing functions. She has a strong track record of delivering transformation, driving cultural change and achieving commercial results, with a focus on improving customer journeys and strengthening relationships across the intermediary, broker and mortgage club markets.

In her new role at the Vernon, Louise will lead the Society’s customer facing functions, including mortgage and savings distribution, product, proposition, marketing and customer lifecycle - known as customer services. She will lead the end-to-end customer and broker experience, embedding their needs into product design, service delivery and digital innovation.

The creation of the CCO role supports Vernon Building Society’s long-term ambition to modernise and transform the business, strengthen its presence across Greater Manchester and Cheshire, and expand its mortgage lending and retail savings business as it works towards growing total assets to £1 billion. Over the next 12 months, the Society is investing in digital transformation of their mortgage journey across both intermediary and direct-to-customer journeys to reduce friction, increase transparency and deliver a more seamless experience.

Darren Ditchburn, Chief Executive at Vernon Building Society, said:

“The creation of Chief Customer Officer role enables us to sharpen our focus on delivering brilliant outcomes for members and brokers at a pivotal time of transformation and growth.

“Louise is an authentic, high-energy leader with a proven record of building customer centric cultures, transforming journeys and growing business in a way that still feels personal and human. She knows how to listen to members and intermediaries, turn that insight into better products and services, and keep teams focused on doing the right thing for them every day.”

During her time at Darlington Building Society, Louise played a key role in helping the organisation reach £1 billion in assets, while also supporting business growth and strengthening its digital proposition. She was voted Inspirational Leader of the Year by colleagues three years running. Her leadership and track record of transformation will bring valuable momentum as the Vernon looks to evolve the business and deliver sustainable growth across the region.

Commenting on her appointment, Louise Thorpe said:

“I’m thrilled to be joining Vernon Building Society at such a pivotal moment. What drew me here is its clear, ambitious growth plan to modernise the business, expand physical presence in Greater Manchester and Cheshire and target £1 billion in assets – delivered the right way, with members and brokers at the heart of every decision.”

“Over the next few years, I look forward to working with colleagues to make the Vernon even easier to do business with across branches, broker partnerships and digital channels, so more people in our communities can access the products, service and support only a modern mutual can deliver.”

Louise started on March 16.