Rob Leedham
Chief Executive Officer
Rob has over 30 years of financial services experience, specialising in fund administration and fiduciary oversight.
Rob’s career began at Prolific Asset Management in 1995, before going on to hold management positions at BNP Paribas, Bank of New York Mellon, and Societe Generale. Rob joined us from Maitland where he was Managing Director for their UK fund administration business. Prior to their acquisition by Maitland in 2015, Rob held the roles of CEO/COO for Phoenix Fund Services.
Samuel Jackson
Chief Risk Officer
Samuel is our Chief Risk Officer, Compliance Officer and MLRO.
Samuel joined the financial services industry in 2002. Samuel’s background is in compliance oversight of AFMs / ACDs including all outsourced and offshored functions such as Transfer Agency, Pricing and Fund Accounting, having held compliance roles at RBS Insurance, NatWest Trustee and Depositary Services and Old Mutual Global Investors.
Lyndsay Cartwright
Chief Administrative Officer
Lyndsay is responsible for all support functions at Yealand and leads our culture and people strategy. She also Chairs our Impact Committee.
Lyndsay’s background is in HR and she has held senior HR roles across many industries. She has a BA (hons) in Business Studies and a Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management. Lyndsay holds an Advanced Diploma in Executive Coaching with the Moller Institute, University of Cambridge.
Hayley McLaren
Head of Business Development
Hayley is responsible for the establishment of new business relationships and the development of new fund propositions for new and existing clients.
Hayley has over 10 years of experience within the Independent ACD sector, with prior experience in senior leadership roles at Waystone Management (UK) and T. Bailey Fund Services, where she successfully launched numerous fund structures for a diverse range of clients and across asset classes.
Louise Reason
Head of Client Services
Louise is responsible for client relationships, onboarding and change management (including fund launches, transitions and changes).
Louise has over 25 years of experience in investment operations and relationship management. Her key strengths include client service, onboarding, and change management, with a consistent focus on delivering seamless outcomes for clients. Louise developed a strong foundation in asset management and administration before moving into senior Client Services roles in Maitland and subsequently the Apex Group.
Samuel O’Connor
Deputy Chief Risk Officer
Samuel specialises in regulatory oversight and implementation, leading a team responsible for the oversight of delegated Investment Management, CASS, Operational Risk and Product Governance.
Samual acts as Deputy MLRO and chairs the Yealand CASS Committee, as well as taking lead with the Assessment of Value and Consumer Duty frameworks.
He has worked within Financial Services since 2011, having started his career with SS&C in an operations setting. His professional experience includes roles with Federated Hermes, 7iM and Old Mutual in both a first and second-line oversight capacity.
Gavin Padbury
Head of Operations
Gavin leads our Fund Operations teams, with particular focus on operational effectiveness, risk management and governance.
Gavin has over 20 years’ of professional experience within Financial Services, focused on driving operational excellence and delivering scalable solutions that support business growth and client success. Gavin previously held the position of Head of T.Bailey Fund Services, where he oversaw several operations teams servicing £14 billion in assets. His career includes Directorship roles at Waystone Transfer Agency Solutions and Senior Management roles at the Bank of New York Mellon and Northern Trust. Gavin holds a 1st class BSc (hons) degree, a CISI Professional level certificate and membership with the Association of Certified and Chartered Accountants.
Karan Brown
Head of Transfer Agency
Karan oversees Yealand’s Transfer Agency function and takes the lead on our Operational Resilience and Consumer Duty working groups.
Karan has 20 years of experience in Transfer Agency working with Retail and Institutional investors. Prior to Yealand, Karan had spent the majority of her career at SS&C where she held technical and senior management roles. Karan has a BA (hons) in Law and holds several CISI qualifications focusing on both regulation and operational functions. Karan plays an active part in IA committees, TISA working groups, and TA forums.
William Lawrance
Head of Finance
Will is a CIMA qualified finance professional who has over 20 years’ experience within the financial services sector.
Prior to joining Yealand he worked as Director of Finance at American Express for the European Corporate Card business and more recently held several roles within Barclays including VP Barclaycard Operations Finance, VP Corporate Capital Management and as a Finance Business Partner in Barclays Wealth Management.
Chris Finch
Chair
Chris has over 30 years’ experience in fund management and product development.
Chris headed the Pensions Product Development team at HSBC Asset Management before co-founding Host Capital’s ACD business, which he successfully led for 14 years. He remains involved in Host Capital Private Markets Ltd, where is responsible for strategic investment and corporate governance.
Chris has an Executive MBE from London School of Economics, is a member of the Securities Institute and an Associate of the Society of Financial Advisers.
Alison Talbot
Independent Non-Executive Director
Alison has extensive legal and regulatory experience in financial services and is deeply experienced in the areas of governance and risk management.
Alison has over 20 years’ experience as a lawyer within the investment management industry where she has held a number of senior roles in authorised firms. Alison spent 10 years at AEGON Asset Management where, most recently, she was the Chief Legal Officer for AEGON Asset Management Europe with responsibility for the provision of legal and regulatory services.
Alastair Hay
Independent Non-Executive Director
Alastair brings with him nearly 40 years’ experience of regulatory compliance, product & business development and fund operational oversight within the funds industry.
Alastair has held several executive roles for organisations across the UK and Europe, including senior depositary roles at RBS Trustee and Depositary Services, Northern Trust, and most recently RBC. He helped RBS to become the largest UK depositary provider to the UK regulated funds industry and he was instrumental in setting up Northern Trust’s UK depositary service, which has gone on to become one of the leading providers in the industry.
Alastair was also a director of the UK Depositary and Trustee Association (DATA) and previously chaired the Investment Association’s SORP Working Party.
Sian Hill
Independent Non-Executive Director
Sian is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Sian was at KPMG for many years including over twenty years as a financial services tax partner advising a broad range of financial institutions, retiring from KPMG in June 2018. In addition to holding Non-Executive Director roles, Sian is also a Trustee and Chair of the Finance & Audit Committee of Place2Be, a leading UK children’s mental health charity.
Aoife McCarthy
Non-Executive Director
Aoife represents Applerigg on the Yealand board, bringing over a decade of experience in investment banking and equity investing.
With a strong background in M&A and investing in high-growth UK businesses, Aoife has supported a wide range of companies through transformational transactions and strategic growth initiatives. At Applerigg, Aoife is responsible for investing in ambitious UK businesses and working closely with portfolio companies to accelerate growth and drive long-term value creation.