Skip to main content
Share price
LSE XXX.XXp % ASX AU$ XXX.XX %

Meet the Executive Leadership Team

David Duffy

David Duffy

Chief Executive Officer

David joined the business in June 2015 as CEO and led the separation of CYBG from National Australia Bank and the Initial Public Offering of CYBG in 2016. Since then, he has led the Group through the acquisition of Virgin Money in 2018, the subsequent integration of the two banks and rebranding of CYBG plc to Virgin Money UK plc.

David has significant international banking experience in developed and emerging markets, gained from a career spanning over three decades. During his career David has lived and worked in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa. He brings deep industry understanding to the Board as well as strong executive leadership which is critical to his role as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). His drive, energy and commitment to customers as well as his proven ability to build and lead strong management teams and transform businesses brings significant value to all of Virgin Money’s stakeholders. David is committed to driving positive social and environmental impacts across all areas of Virgin Money, further supported by his role as Senior Independent Director (SID), Nominations and Remuneration Committee Chair and Appeals Committee Chair of UK Finance Limited, advocating firms to embed climate responsibility into their governance and strategy.

Prior to joining the Group, David was appointed to the role of CEO at Allied Irish Banks plc by the Irish Government where he led the restructuring and recovery of AIB following the financial crisis. David was also previously the CEO of Standard Bank International where he had responsibility for operations in the UK, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Prior to this role David was the Head of Global Wholesale Banking Network with ING Group with responsibility for all regional CEOs in the global network and President and Chief Executive of the ING wholesale franchises in the United States and Latin America.

David was previously a member of TheCityUK Advisory Council, a past president of the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland, a former Director of the European Banking Federation and previously held the role of HM Treasury Fintech Envoy for England, supporting the Chancellor and the late Her Majesty’s Treasury by advocating the Fintech industry across England.

External appointments:

David is Senior Independent Director of UK Finance Limited, Nominations and Remuneration Committee Chair and Appeals Committee Chair of UK Finance Limited, the industry body representing leading firms providing finance, banking, markets and payments-related services in or from the UK, and a Board member of The Northern Powerhouse Partnership.

Clifford Abrahams

Clifford Abrahams

Chief Financial Officer

Clifford joined Virgin Money as Group CFO in March 2021, with responsibility for finance, treasury, investor relations and corporate finance.

Clifford brings extensive executive experience across international financial services to the Board. His broad knowledge gained as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of publicly listed financial services companies is of great value to the Board. Clifford’s proven track record of delivery of commercial results, risk management and business change and development including digital propositions is crucial to supporting Virgin Money in the delivery of its strategy. Clifford is responsible for financial management and reporting, strategy, investor relations and sustainability. Prior to joining Virgin Money, Clifford was Group CFO at ABN AMRO Bank having joined in that role in 2017. Previous roles include Group CFO at the Dutch insurer Delta Lloyd Group, ten years at Aviva in several senior financial roles including CFO of Aviva Investors, CFO of UK & Ireland Life Insurance and CFO of UK & Ireland General Insurance. In the early part of his career Clifford spent 12 years at Morgan Stanley in the Financial Institutions Group, most latterly as Managing Director.

Sarah Wilkinson

Sarah Wilkinson

Chief Operating Officer

Sarah joined Virgin Money in January 2023 as Chief Operating Officer, responsible for digital, innovation, and customer experience.

Sarah joined the business from Thomson Reuters, where she was Chief Information Officer. Prior to Thomson Reuters, she held roles as Chief Executive Officer of NHS Digital and Chief Information Officer at the Home Office. Sarah holds a number of non-executive positions which further broadens the perspective she brings to Virgin Money. In her earlier career Sarah spent 23 years in Financial Services, during which she held CIO roles at Credit Suisse, UBS, Deutsche Bank and Lehman Brothers. Sarah was voted No 1 in the UK Tech50 for 2021, Computer Weekly’s annual ranking of the Top 50 Most Influential Leaders in the UK Tech Industry.

James Peirson

James Peirson

General Counsel and Purpose Officer

James joined the Group’s former parent company, National Australia Bank, in May 2005 and was appointed as Group General Counsel in November 2014. James is responsible for managing legal risk and providing legal, compliance and company secretariat services to the Board, CEO and Leadership Team. Alongside this, James leads the development and embedding of Virgin Money’s Purpose: Making you happier about money.

James’s previous roles include leading NAB’s London branch legal team and roles supporting NAB and Clydesdale Bank Treasury activities as part of NAB’s Capital & Funding legal team in Melbourne and London. Before joining NAB, James worked in private legal practice at Hogan Lovells in London, Paris and Frankfurt.

James sponsors the Bank’s disability inclusion network.

Syreeta Brown

Syreeta Brown

Group Chief People and Communications Officer

Syreeta joined the business in November 2021 as Group Chief People and Communications Officer.

Syreeta has over 20 years of experience working in Human Resources roles. She spent 11 years at Citi, holding several senior HR roles, the most recent of which was Managing Director, Head of HR for Global Functions, Operations and Technology, leading HR strategy for 20,000 employees across Europe, Middle East and Africa. Prior to her time at Citi, Syreeta worked at BT Group for 11 years in number of senior roles.

Syreeta holds an Executive Masters in HR leadership and completed an HR Executive Programme at University of Michigan. She won ‘Leader in Financial Services’ at the 2018 Black British Business Awards.

Susan Poot

Susan Poot

Group Chief Risk Officer

Susan joined Virgin Money in January 2022 and is responsible for managing and overseeing risk and compliance for the Group.

Susan joined from ING Bank, where she spent over 20 years in a number of commercial and risk roles, most recently as Chief Risk Officer, Retail Banking where she was responsible for setting the standards for credit risk, compliance and operational risk management across all of ING’s retail markets. Susan was also Chief Risk Officer, Challenger and Growth Countries (C&G) during this period with responsibility for Chief Risk Officers in all of ING’s global C&G markets.

Susan holds an MBA in Business Economics from The University of Amsterdam and completed the Executive Banking Programme: Management at INSEAD Business School, Fontainebleau.

Allegra Patrizi

Allegra Patrizi

Managing Director Business and Commercial

Allegra joined Virgin Money as Managing Director Business and Commercial in August 2023.

Allegra has worked in the financial services sector for over 20 years. Prior to joining the business, she was CEO at Aegon in the Netherlands and a member of the Aegon Group Management Board. Previous roles include Group Risk Director at Prudential plc and Chief Product Officer and Chief Administration Officer at F&C Asset Management. Allegra started her career at McKinsey and Company where she rose to Partner.

Allegra is also a non-executive board member of D’Ieteren Group.

Related content