Christine has been a Non- Executive Director for SWIG Finance for the past 3.5 years, during which time she has played an active role in supporting the company growth across the South West.
Christine has been involved with finance for much of her working life, having spent many years working internationally, largely with the Washington DC based World Bank, and more recently working on access to finance at both national and local levels in the UK.
Outgoing Chair Malachy McReynolds said “I am delighted that Christine is to succeed me at SWIG Finance. In my stint as Chair, we have created a successful organisation, lending from its own balance sheet to businesses across the South West who have found it impossible to source funding from traditional finance providers. Our “socially inclusive” approach has seen us lend nearly 40% of our total to female led businesses and enabled us to concentrate on lending to entrepreneurs in the most economically deprived neighbourhoods in the South West.”
Of her new appointment, Christine commented “It is a great privilege to be appointed as the next Chair of SWIG Finance. I am excited to be working alongside SWIG colleagues and South West partners to support local SMEs with the right kind of finance, and to help the regional economy recover and grow.”
Vanessa Moon, Founding Director of Moon Executive Search, led the campaign on the search for the new Chair and managed the process throughout what was a considerable exercise.
Of the campaign, Vanessa said “This was a great campaign and there was a huge amount of traction in the business and finance community, with sound support for SWIG Finance. I was so impressed with the amount of interest shown in the roles and keenness of candidates and I am delighted with the end result.”
About SWIG Finance
SWIG Finance is a people-based lender that provides loans and support to help smaller businesses in the South and West Country grow. We base our lending decisions on potential rather than collateral, which means that we can often support businesses when others can't.
We’re growing every year. In 2024/25, we lent £14.8m to 501 businesses, helping to create and secure over 1,272 jobs and generate £75.7m in social impact. Download the report here.
If you’d like an informal chat about your funding requirements, get in touch with our friendly and professional team to see how we can help: info@swigfinance.co.uk / 01872 227 930