Welcome to our new non-executive director Owen Woodley

Next Monday, 1 June, we will welcome Owen Woodley, as a new non-executive director of our trust. Owen became a professional artist in 2024 after having spent nearly four decades in the finance and retail sectors. He started work at Barclays where he spent 20 years, both in the UK and across sub-Saharan Africa. Following the financial crisis, he raised funding to establish a new bank in the UK, Shawbrook, where he was the first CEO.

In 2012, Owen went to Lloyds to run the retail bank and he finished his career at the Post Office group, primarily running the subsidiary commercial businesses. As part of that role, he chaired the board of First Rate Exchange Services, the largest consumer currency business in the UK, and also the board of the payments company, Payzone.

He is passionate about Higher Education and spent nine years on the board of Nottingham Trent University from 2014 to 2023. He joined the governing Council of the University of Leicester in March 2026 where he also chairs the Audit Committee.

Owen now splits his time between his art projects and his non-executive board roles.