Christopher White – Chief Financial Officer

Chris joined Ecology in September 2023 as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), bringing with him over 15 years’ experience working within financial services and building societies.

Chris previously held CFO roles at Darlington Building Society and Beverley Building Society and also worked at PwC, providing assurance services to financial institutions.

Chris lives with his wife, three young children and dalmatian, near Darlington. When not at work Chris enjoys spending time with his family, watching sport, running with his dog and open water swimming.

Speaking about his appointment, Chris said:

“I’m really delighted to be joining Ecology at such a pivotal and exciting time. Ecology has focused on supporting sustainable lending since it was formed over 40 years ago and that’s more important and relevant than ever as the UK faces significant challenges in transforming its housing stock to support a greener future. I am looking forward to helping Ecology deliver its ambitious plans and supporting more people achieve their goals in sustainable living.”

Jaedon Green, Director

Jaedon has spent much of his career working in financial services, most recently as Chief Customer Officer at Leeds Building Society.

Supporting the national housing agenda, Jaedon brings extensive experience in consumer regulated industries, housing, and financial services. He is routinely consulted as an independent adviser to the Bank of England, the Government, developers, and trade bodies. He is also Non-Executive Director at Leeds Federated Housing Association and Deputy Chair of his local allotment community interest company.

Jaedon was elected as a Non-Executive Director at the AGM in April 2023. 

Gareth Griffiths – Chief Executive

Gareth joined Ecology as Chief Executive in June 2022. Prior to this he was Head of Retail Banking at Triodos Bank.  He has also held leadership roles at RAC and HSBC after beginning his banking career with former mutual, Bradford and Bingley.

He believes that Ecology’s mission has never been more relevant, with the need to address the climate crisis, deepening financial inequalities and transforming the UK’s housing stock at the heart of the sustainability challenge. His aim is that the Society plays an even greater part in addressing these issues to create a sustainable future while supporting the Ecology team to continue to deliver award-winning service for members.

Gareth is a keen triathlete, having completed a number of middle distance triathlons, in his spare time he enjoys getting out to his local nature reserve with his family.

As well as being Chief Executive, Gareth was elected to the Ecology Board at the AGM in April 2023.

Kerry Mashford, Director

Kerry is a mechanical engineer by background and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers and Institution of Engineering and Technology.

She was Chief Executive of the National Energy Foundation for over five years having previously worked across manufacturing, construction, innovation, sustainability and building performance and was awarded an OBE in 2017.

Kerry is a non-executive director of the Active Building Centre and chairs the development of the new British Standard in Building Performance Evaluation. She is a member of Worcestershire LEP Energy Strategy Steering Group and Cadent Gas Customer Engagement Group. With her husband she built one of the Future World homes in Milton Keynes where their family lived for 14 years and is currently planning a downsized self-build in Worcestershire.

Louise Pryor, Chair

Louise is a climate change actuary and risk specialist with thirty years of experience in actuarial consulting, software development and academia, having worked with a variety of clients in the public and private sectors.  She has worked on emerging risks, risks to cities, and how insurers can support resilience to climate risks and has recently been focusing on how actuarial concepts can help thinking around carbon emissions and offsets. Louise is Immediate Past President of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment, and Chair of the London Climate Change Partnership.

Giovanni D’Alessio, Director

Giovanni is an IT professional with over 25 years of experience in technology, digital transformation and cyber security.  

In addition to his role at Ecology as a Non-Executive Director, Giovanni continues to hold the role of CEO at Doosan Digital Innovation Europe (DDIE), an IT company providing application management, infrastructure, digitalisation and cyber security services. 

Giovanni also held positions as a management consultant in both the USA and the UK at PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting and more recently at IBM implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions, Supply Chain Transformation, and other custom application solutions.  

Giovanni joined the Ecology Board to support the transformation required to achieve the goals of the 2030 Strategy. He brings his experience of technology and process innovation to support the Society to become more agile against the backdrop of shifting member needs.  

In his spare time, Giovanni is a keen athlete, enjoys gardening, playing chess and reading books. 

Giovanni was elected as a Non-Executive Director at the AGM in April 2023. 

Vince Smith, Director

Vince was co-opted to join the Ecology Board in 2017 and was subsequently elected as a non-executive Director at the AGM in April 2018. Vince has recently retired from a 29 year career in corporate treasury, having held senior roles in a number of FTSE 100 and 250 companies, negotiating, procuring and managing banking services, funding and ancillary financial arrangements in various markets around the world. He has wide experience in the building materials, construction and services sectors.

As well as his corporate treasury background, Vince has an environmental degree and has been a volunteer for a number of nature conservation organisations. For 21 years up to 2016 he served as a Trustee of Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, with 8 of those years as Chairman.

Andrew Gold, Director

Andrew is a qualified chartered accountant who also holds a treasury qualification and has spent most of his career working in retail financial services, primarily building societies. In May 2014 Andrew was appointed as a Non-Executive Director (NED) for the Society. In addition Andrew is the NED Chair of the Airedale NHS Foundation Trust.

Having had his first direct involvement with the Society in 1996, Andrew will use all his experience to ensure that the Society maintains a focus on good outcomes for all its members whilst continuing to be a thriving, sustainable organisation striving to achieve its core values and ethos at all times.