Richard Beck to lead on strategic comms at Nationwide

Richard Beck has been appointed director of strategic planning and external relations at Nationwide. The building society is combining its strategy and stakeholder relations functions under new CEO Joe Garner.

Beck joins the Nationwide Building Society’s Executive Committee and will play a leading role in the development of the new communications strategy, which is intended to project the ‘member and societal value of mutuality’.

Garner said: “As a mutual building society, we have the privilege of being owned by our members, which allows us to operate in the wider interests of members, customers and society. It puts a special premium on understanding and engaging our stakeholders and aligning interests with our society strategy.”

Beck will also lead in all aspects of external relations planning, including investor relations, media engagement, public affairs and company narrative. He joins from a chairman and principal partner role at international advisory firm Teneo and will continue to advise non-competing clients in a private capacity.

Beck added: “Nationwide’s team has done a tremendous job building an enviable reputation in a sector that makes such an important contribution to society, but has been dogged by disaster and difficulty. We have a golden opportunity to demonstrate what being a member-owned organisation means, and to take a position of real leadership in the industry. That’s the challenge that tempted me back in-house, in particular to join Nationwide Building Society.”

Prior to establishing and running Teneo’s UK business, Beck was a group communications director at HSBC.