Skipton Building Society has appointed Ian Cornelius to the new board role of commercial director.

Cornelius is currently interim commercial director at the Society’s mortgage servicing subsidiary HML.

He will join Skipton on 11 June, and his appointment is subject to FSA approval.

He will be responsible for the product, marketing and customer insight teams. He has 15 years experience working for organisations including Bradford & Bingley, Capital One and Virgin Money.

Cornelius said: “Great opportunities lie ahead for Skipton, as a mutual, in the current market environment, and I am looking forward to working with the senior team to build on the Society’s strong infrastructure in terms of brand, people and customer base.”

Group Chief Executive David Cutter, to whom Cornelius will report, added: “I welcome Ian on board. I am sure he will make a strong contribution to Skipton and our quest – as a straightforward modern mutual with a human touch – to offer our customers a compelling proposition in financial services, with a level of personal service which is highly rated by our members.”