Together rings the changes
Six months on from Richard Rowntree’s arrival as chief executive, the property lender’s executive team has been boosted with three senior appointments, while Marc Goldberg is to retire next year.
Goldberg, chief executive of sales and distribution, has decided to retire from Together in December 2026 after 38 years with the group.
He will step down from the group board at the end of this month, with chief commercial officer Ryan Etchells taking on additional responsibilities, and working with Goldberg through an 18-month handover.
The company, which now holds a loan book of £7.8bn has appointed people to the roles of chief people officer, chief operating officer and chief marketing officer.
Cheryl Brough takes up the first of those roles, joining from Italian-headquartered tech-led insurance group Prima Assicurazioni.
Prior to that, she held senior positions at Provident Financial Group, where she was chief HR officer, and Cabot Credit Management, where was group HR director.
Joining from Bank of Ireland as COO, Dave Sutherland brings 20 years’ experience in operations, technology and process transformation in finance and retail. At BoI, he served as group director of business efficiency and interim chief executive (UK). He has also previously held senior roles in the asset management and servicing division at Arrow Global as well as TD Bank, GE Capital and Santander UK.
Candice Lott, previously owner and founder of consultancy We Are The Digital Type, is the firm’s new chief marketing officer.
She has previously worked with high-profile brands such as easyJet, parkrun and the Post Office, while her earlier career saw her work in senior marketing roles at Greene King, Nandos, Thomas Cook and Compare the Market.
The CPO and COO roles were previously manned by Kevin Fisher and John Barker respectively – Barker is now chief executive of Together’s personal finance division, while Fisher retired earlier this year. The CMO role is a new position, replacing a group head of marketing role.
The new executives will join the business from July onwards and will be working with Rowntree to take the 51-year old business forward.
Group chief executive Rowntree said: “I am delighted to welcome Dave, Cheryl and Candice to Together. They bring extensive experience and will further strengthen and diversify our senior leadership team as we build on our past success and take the Group to the next level.
“I would also thank Marc for his outstanding contribution to Together over the last 38 years. It has been a great pleasure to work with him and I am sure he will continue to be a good friend and supporter of the Group into the future.
“Consolidating sales and distribution under Ryan’s leadership will ensure that we are focused on supporting our customers with innovative market-leading products and I’d like to congratulate Ryan on his wider responsibilities.”
Experienced banker Rowntree joined from Paragon at the start of this year, in a move trailed in autumn 2024.
Goldberg said, “I am so proud of Together and all that the company has achieved and have had the pleasure of working with inspirational colleagues, customers and business partners over the course of my career. I have relished the opportunity and part that I have played helping to build the business to the success that it is today and will be excited to see how Together will evolve further in the future.
“My focus over the next 18 months is to support Ryan in his new role and making sure that we continue to support our customers, colleagues and business partners withy the right outcomes.”
