Hodge Bank has appointed Graeme Hughes as senior independent director of Julian Hodge Bank Limited and Hodge Life Assurance Company Limited and David Gulland to the board of Hodge Life Assurance Company.

Both will join the board of Hodge Limited.

Hughes spent the vast majority of his career with the Nationwide Building Society, most recently becoming group distribution director in 2013.

Gulland was with Bacon & Woodrow and Deloitte as an associate partner and has more than 30 years’ experience as an insurance professional and currently holds varying governance and oversight responsibilities at the Royal London Group, PG Mutual and the Funeral Planning Authority.

Adrian Piper, Hodge’s chairman, said: “I am delighted to welcome Graeme and David, they have each enjoyed long and varied careers in financial services and we are very pleased to be able to call on their perspectives and expertise as the business develops.”

Meanwhile, two existing members of the Hodge board, chairman Adrian Piper and non-executive director Jonathan Hodge, have announced their retirement from the business.

Piper will be retiring in April 2020 after more than nine years on the board, the last two in his role as chairman.

He said: “It has been a huge privilege to lead the Hodge businesses through some challenging times and to see it emerge stronger and well set for its next chapter.”

Steve Pateman, CEO at Hodge, added: “Adrian has played a critical role in creating a financial institution that is fit for the modern world. He has been balanced in his approach, seeking to take the values that our founder instilled in the business and making them relevant to the 21st Century. Adrian has made a tremendous impact on the business and its staff, and his presence will be sorely missed. We wish him all the very best in his retirement”. A search is in train for Adrian’s successor.