Saffron Building Society has announced the appointment of Colin Field as chief executive officer designate.

Field (pictured) is a qualified Chartered Accountant and is currently the Society’s chief financial officer, a position he has held since May 2014. Prior to this, he was group financial controller at Saffron Building Society, having joined the mutual in 2013.

Before joining Saffron, Field held a number of senior management positions with Barclays, Caudwell Group and Willis Group.

The Saffron said Field has a number of tasks to complete in order to make the transition to CEO, not least, replacing himself as CFO. In the meantime, he will become deputy chief executive and the current interim CEO, Mike Kirsch, has agreed to stay on to help facilitate the transition. Field is expected to be fully in post by 1 September 2015.

Geoffrey Dunn, chairman of Saffron Building Society, said: “Following a very extensive external search, the Board unanimously determined that Colin Field was the outstanding candidate to be our new CEO.

“We are all really delighted by Colin’s appointment. He is personable and down to earth, knowledgeable in his field, and exactly what Saffron Building Society needs. Colin is already well known by staff and members alike and we look forward to what his leadership has to bring.

“Colin is committed to developing Saffron as a strong regional building society and the planned hand-over between CEOs means that the Society will see continuity and consistency, leaving it well placed for the challenges of 2015.”