Leading Newcastle based financial advisory firm, Lowes Financial Management, has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of a new board director to its parent company Lowes Group Ltd.
Claire Lockey has been appointed Operations Director, joining a sevenstrong board, as part of an ongoing wider restructure and expansion of the national practice and its services.
Claire, of Billingham, Teesside, has been part of the Executive Committee at Lowes for the past two years, joining initially as Project and Quality Manager, bringing her wide business experience to several existing initiatives across the firm.
In her new role she will lead on all transformation activities that range from people development, ongoing development of the company culture and the digitalisation of systems and processes.
With an extensive corporate background across multiple sectors including banking, utilities and transport, Claire has been involved in the delivery of major changes such as the HBOS merger, transition of Npower to Eon, and funding governance for national infrastructure projects. She brings skills and expertise in project management, continuous improvement, Lean methodology and process redesign to the Lowes teams.
She said: “There are many great developments happening at Lowes, and I am delighted to be taking a more strategic role, working with the board and colleagues, to drive the ongoing transformation.
“It’s a real pleasure to be taking up this new role at this exciting time. Lowes has some big plans to build on its strong traditions of personal finances being cared for personally whilst also embracing greater use of technology to enhance client service and our multi award winning investment proposition. During the last year and more we have developed an exciting new investment platform that we’re now in the early stages of launching.
“Financial services is constantly evolving and we seek to further embrace technology, but only for those tasks that can and should be automated. We recognise an increasing number of our younger prefer digital service-based solutions as a compliment to our traditional personal approach.”
Ian Lowes, MD of Lowes Group, said: “For a successful business with over 50 years under our belt we’re committed to continuing to evolve and transform the firm to meet client demands and a changing financial landscape.
“We need dynamic people like Claire, with her extensive background in change management, to help drive the business forwards, working with the board and executive team to cement Lowes position as one of the best financial advisers in the country.
“It’s important that in the next few years we make Lowes the ‘go to’ company for financial advice – not just in the North East but at a national level.”
Lowes advises clients across a wide range of financial aspects such as inheritance tax planning, investment management, pensions, tax mitigation, long term care and other general financial planning issues, helping clients and their families to build and secure their financial future. Lowes has regularly been recognised as one the best investment advice firms in the UK, helped in part by its unique approach to portfolio management honed over five decades.
For more details about the firm visit www.Lowes.co.uk