Our Board and Executive Committee

Adam has 35 years’ experience in the motor finance industry, with 20 years at director level. He was appointed Head of Risk at Volkswagen Financial Services in 1994 (supporting VW, Audi, SEAT and Skoda manufacturers), before joining Fiat (Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Jaguar and Land Rover) as Risk Director of its Financial Services Company in 1996. In 2009, he joined Santander Consumer Finance as Risk Director before moving to PSA Finance UK to become Managing Director of the joint venture in early 2018. He returned to SCUK as deputy CEO in April 2021.

Adam holds an MSc in Credit Management from Leeds University Business School and an MBA in Banking and Finance from Bangor University. He is a Chartered Banker, a Chartered Director and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors.

After graduating in accounting from Leeds Metropolitan University, Stewart joined Lombard North Central in 1988, working first as an Underwriter, then as Business Development Manager. After this, he moved to Rover Finance, taking on the role of Midlands Region Sales Manager, before moving to BMW Financial Services in 1996 – firstly as Network Development Manager, then as Head of Marketing for its associate brands Rover, Land Rover and Mini.

Over an 11-year period with Toyota Financial Services, he operated as New Market Development Manager leading teams across Europe, before assuming the role of Head of Sales and Marketing for Europe.

In 2012, Stewart took on the position of Marketing Director at Santander Consumer Finance, then spent two years as Managing Director for Hyundai Capital (HCUK), before returning to Santander Consumer Finance in October 2015, assuming the role of Commercial Director. He is also on the Board of Directors of HCUK.

Graham has over 25 years’ experience in financial services, with demonstrable experience in various managerial roles responsible for operational and IT functions.

Graham started his career with Lombard Motor Finance and gained useful insight in centralised operational processes, working in Customer Services and Collections before moving into IT as a Business Analyst. Graham continued his development as a Business Analyst in pensions and investments with Legal & General, before joining Toyota Financial Services as a Senior Business Analyst with responsibility for the IT aspects of new Toyota Financial Services company start-ups around Europe.

Graham gained his PRINCE2 qualification in 2005 and successfully managed a wide range of complex projects, including software development and integration, internet banking, securitisation and regulatory transformation.

Stephen has worked in financial services for over 30 years, covering roles in various fields including Economics, Marketing, Project Management, Corporate Strategy and Operations. His more recent roles have been IT & Operations Director for Santander Consumer UK (2009-2015) and Deputy CEO for PSA Finance UK (2015-2018).

In January 2018, Stephen returned to Santander Consumer as Strategy, Projects & HR Director. He is now the Board Director of HCUK. Previous board directorships have included PSA Finance UK, BACS Ltd and CHAPS Ltd. Stephen holds a degree in Economics from the University of Warwick and an MBA from Warwick Business School, as well as being a Fellow of the Institute of Directors.

Ian has twenty-five years’ experience in the motor finance industry, leading teams across a wide range of functions. He graduated from Southampton, holds a BA (Hons) in Business, and is a qualified accountant (ACMA / CGMA).   

He began his career with Lombard Motor Finance and in 1998 moved to First National, which later saw him accept the role of business partner. With Santander’s entrance to the UK market in 2005, Ian became an integral member of the project team to launch Santander Consumer UK and on commencement of trading, was responsible for business planning and pricing.  In 2007, Ian became SCUK’s Financial Controller, where in addition to leading the Finance and Financial Management teams, his responsibilities included risk reporting, internal control, and the evaluation of new business opportunities.  

Ian joined Hyundai Capital UK in 2015, initially as Deputy Managing Director with responsibility for Sales, before becoming Managing Director in 2018 and leading the joint venture for a further 4 years. Following the completion of his rotational secondment, Ian has returned to Santander Consumer, assuming the role of Operations Director.

With over 15 years of experience in the motor finance industry, Kathleen is accomplished at leading the strategy to drive change and transformation initiatives within legal, compliance and financial crime functions. She has significant experience as a data protection officer, money laundering reporting officer and company secretary.  

Kathleen is a graduate of the University of Dundee and holds postgraduate qualifications in financial crime compliance. She is also a solicitor in England and Wales and a Fellow member of the International Compliance Association.  Her knowledge and expertise covers consumer credit, commercial and contract law, data protection, corporate law, and regulatory law. Kathleen is Chair of SCUK’s diversity and inclusion forum.

Christine Palmer has extensive experience in the financial services sector following a career spanning over 30 years. Christine joined Santander in 2020 from Aldermore Group, a specialist lender operating in the UK, where she was an executive director and Group Chief Risk Officer for the holding company, banking and consumer car finance businesses. After graduating from the University of Wales, Christine started her career at ABN Bank where she undertook a variety of roles in credit risk. In 1991, Christine joined ING, where she spent eight years in a variety of risk management roles in both London and Amsterdam. Before joining RBS in 2002, Christine held a consultancy role at Ernst & Young, where she focused on credit risk management in the Financial Services Risk Management practice. At RBS, Christine held many senior roles within the bank including Global Head of Operational Risk & Divested Businesses as well as Chief Risk Officer roles for the Group’s Non-Core Division and its UK Corporate & Commercial Bank. During her career Christine has successfully navigated complex, scale and global businesses as well as faster growing new banks all of which have experienced significant transformation and challenging environments requiring Risk to be a ‘voice at the table’ to challenge and support strategic ambitions.

Bruno is Head of non-Euro Business Area Santander Consumer Division. He was previously Senior Executive Vice President for the non-Euro Area.

Fede Ysart has more than 30 years of experience in banking, and in the design and implementation of financial best-practices in Spain, UK, US, France and the Nordics. Fede joined Santander after graduating in Law & Business Administration at CEU SAN PABLO, UNIVERSIDAD COMPLUTENSE, Madrid, Spain. After years in Capital Markets at Santander and JP Morgan, he worked for Santander in different business divisions and, since 2017, joined Santander Consumer.