- Simon Bowen appointed Chief Risk Officer, previously CRO at Hodge Bank.
- Kevin Purcell appointed Chief People Officer, formerly from Secure Trust Bank.
- Darvish Heshejin appointed Managing Director of Home Improvement Lending, as industry spokesperson Julian Nutley transitions to a new role from September to become Senior Adviser to Tandem on home improvement lending.
- Tom Ellmers expands executive role to Managing Director of Deposits and Digital Experience, bringing together Tandem’s app, customer experience, brand, communications and marketing under one remit.
Digital challenger bank Tandem has announced a series of senior leadership changes as it accelerates a new investor-backed strategy focused on sustainable finance - helping customers live more sustainably and build everyday financial resilience. The changes are supported by significant investment across Tandem’s executive team, Board, digital capability and customer proposition as the bank enters its next stage of growth.
Risk and People leadership
Simon Bowen joins Tandem as Chief Risk Officer. An ACMA-qualified finance leader, Simon brings over 25 years of risk and finance transformation experience across the UK banking sector, most recently as CRO at Hodge Bank as well as senior roles at Lloyds Banking Group and Principality Building Society. Additionally, Tandem strengthens its wider risk leadership with the appointment of Natalie Trist as Director of Credit Risk Strategy, bringing over 25 years’ credit leadership experience across HSBC, Close Brothers, Secure Trust Bank and Vanquis Banking Group.
Simon commented; "Tandem has established itself as one of the most credible purpose-led digital banks in the market,” he said. I'm delighted to be joining the executive team and look forward to playing my part in what comes next."
Kevin Purcell also joins as Chief People Officer, bringing more than 30 years of senior people leadership experience across financial services. Formerly CPO at Secure Trust Bank, Kevin also served as CPO at Universities Superannuation Scheme and has held senior HR leadership roles at Barclays Investment Bank and UBS Investment Bank. Kevin succeeds Catherine Diamond, following two years as Chief People Officer, during which Tandem was recognised as a Sunday Times Best Place to Work for two consecutive years and most recently Certified™ Great Place to Work®.
Kevin said; “You can tell a lot about a business from the recognition it earns from its own people. Back-to-back Sunday Times awards showcase what Tandem is building, and I am looking forward to taking that agenda further as we scale."
Home Improvement Lending
Tandem has also confirmed further internal changes, including Darvish Heshejin who has been appointed Managing Director of Home Improvement Lending, moving from Director of Strategy and Proposition. He will focus on scaling Tandem’s home improvement lending proposition as the bank approaches £1bn in green lending, while also leading the launch of its revamped marketplace proposition.
Darvish succeeds Julian Nutley, who is transitioning to a new role from September to become Senior Adviser to Tandem, supporting Darvish and the HIL team. Julian founded Allium Money - the green lending business acquired by Tandem in 2020 - and has played a central role in building Tandem's home improvement lending proposition into one of the most established in the UK market.
Julian Nutley said: "It has been a privilege to help build Tandem's home improvement lending business into what it is today. I’m incredibly proud of what the team has achieved and I’m looking forward to continuing to support Darvish as he takes it from strength to strength.”
Deposits and Digital Experience
In addition, with over four years at Tandem, Tom Ellmers expands his executive role as Managing Director of Deposits and Digital Experience, creating a single leadership structure across Tandem’s deposits, app, brand, customer experience, corporate communications and digital marketing teams.
Neil Chandler, CEO of Tandem, commented: "Tandem is entering a defining and important next stage of growth, backed by a clear investor-supported strategy and with ambition to scale our impact, and continued investment in sustainable finance. These changes bring together our risk, people, lending, and digital teams under leaders with a proven track record, as we invest in the next phase of our growth.
“I want to thank Julian for everything he has built in home improvement lending and I’m glad he will continue supporting Darvish and the team as he moves into his new role. I’d also like thank Catherine for the lasting impact she has had on our culture and our people. I am delighted to welcome Simon, Kevin, and Natalie to the business, and to see Darvish and Tom take on these expanded roles."
These changes build on a sustained period of investment in Tandem's leadership. In 2025, Ryan Heaps was promoted to Chief Financial Officer and Russell Strevens joined as Chief Technology Officer. At Board level, Stephen Jones was appointed Chair at the start of 2026 and Clive Kornitzer joined as Independent Non-Executive Director in March 2026.
