Iain Cornish

Iain Cornish has more than 30 years experience working in senior positions in financial services, primarily in the mutual sector. He began his career as an econometrician and strategy consultant before moving into the building society sector with roles in marketing, strategic planning and corporate affairs. He spent 20 years at Yorkshire Building Society where he was Chief Executive between 2003 and 2011, leading the Society through the global financial crisis. During his executive career he also served as chair of the Building Societies Association and chair of the Financial Services Authority practitioner panel, and was an executive committee member of the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

In his non-executive career, Iain’s roles have included that of chair of Leeds Building Society and Treasurer of Macmillan Cancer Support. He has also been an independent director of the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulatory Authority, and acted as a Special Adviser to the Treasury Select Committee in respect of its investigation into the failure of HBoS. He has also been chair of Shawbrook Bank and chair of St James’s Place.

In addition to his role at Leeds Beckett, Iain is on the board of the Committee of University Chairs, and led the Steering Committee which rewrote the CUC’s Code of Higher Education Governance. He also chairs the governing body at Ben Rhydding Primary School.