A stalwart of the Suffolk business community has announced he will be retiring from his post as chief executive of Ipswich Building Society in 2017.
The search is now on to find a successor to Paul Winter, who will mark his 27th year on the board and tenth year as chief executive on his retirement.
“When I took over as chief executive I said the maximum amount of time anyone should serve as a CEO of any organisation is 10 years,” he said.
“I like to think that since April 2007, when I became CEO, the society has achieved a great deal, maintaining a healthy and profitable business in the face of regulatory change, standing up for mortgage misfits, and being true to our role as a mutual.”
But he added that there was “still work to do” and it would be “business as usual” before he hangs up his boots.
Society chairman Sarah Evans said: “Paul will be a hard act to follow but we are confident that launching the search now for our new CEO will allow for a seamless transition, and allow us time to find the right successor.
“We will be celebrating Paul’s achievements over 35 years with the society when the time comes for him to leave us. For now there is a full programme ahead and Paul is very much committed to helping the society move forward.”
Ipswich Building Society, which was set up in 1849, has around 65,000 members and more than 80,000 savings accounts and 5,000 mortgage accounts.
It operates across nine branches - Aldeburgh, Saxmundham, Halesworth, Woodbridge, Tower Ramparts Ipswich, Ravenswood Ipswich, Hadleigh, Haverhill and Sudbury.
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