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The Personal Finance Society (PFS) has appointed Carla Brown as its new chair as Christine Elliot exits.
In an announcement yesterday (14 April), the PFS board confirmed that Brown has become its chair, following a decision by Elliott "to stand down" from the PFS.
The professional body said that Brown's appointment will "reestablish the tradition of the PFS president" holding both roles concurrently.
The PFS added that it is "very grateful" to Elliott for her contribution during two periods as chair, and one as senior independent director.
Elliott joined the PFS in July 2023 as one of five institute directors appointed by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) for an initial one-year term.
In December 2023, she took the role of interim chair of the PFS board following the departure of Andy Briscoe. She served in this capacity until 1 June 2024, when Piers White was appointed as the first independent chair of the PFS board. She returned as a lay director on 19 September 2024, following White's departure.
Brown joined the professional body more than three and a half years ago as vice president and latterly became non-executive director in 2023 and then president in September 2024.
Balance of institute-appointed directors ‘under review'
The news of Elliott's departure comes after CII executive and PFS director Mathew Mallett left to "explore other opportunities".
The CII group board recently appointed Ian Callaghan to the PFS board and said it will continue to keep the balance of institute-appointed directors on the PFS Board "under review".
Callaghan's PFS appointment came after PFS members Kate Gannon and Craig Palfrey joined its board on Monday 3 March.
These board appointments followed campaign group criticism of the CII after it added four members of its executive leadership team – including Mallett - to the PFS board last October.
The PFS has experienced a merry-go-round of board changes in recent years, amid tensions over alleged governance issues that drove resignations in 2023.
Former PFS CEO Don MacIntyre exited the organisation last November, days before its annual general meeting (AGM). The body has yet to appoint a replacement.
At the 11 November AGM, Elliott admitted that the long-running dispute between over its governance, board make-up and financial issues was "professionally embarrassing" but pledged that members' interests were "number one on the agenda."
