SWIG Finance is delighted to announce the appointment of Christine Allison as Chairperson Elect, to succeed Malachy McReynolds, who is stepping down in March 2021 after five years in the role.
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 the South West’s leading Community Development Financial Institution. We are passionate about bringing social and economic benefits to people and places in the South West.
We do this by providing support and finance to Start Ups and growing SMEs that can create and secure employment opportunities.
As the South West’s leading delivery partner for Start Up Loans UK, we can provide Start Up loans from £500 – £25,000. For more information visit https://www.swigfinance.co.uk/start-up-loans/
We also have loans from £10,000 to £250,000 available to South West SMEs who cannot access sufficient funding from their bank https://www.swigfinance.co.uk/funds-available/
For an informal discussion about your funding requirements, get in touch with our friendly and professional team to find out how we can help: info@swigfinance.co.uk / 01872 227 932.