Meet our Team | Pure Retirement

Paul Carter

I’ve worked in the financial services industry for over 33 years, with the last 19 of those years focussed on the equity release industry. My experience in the equity release sector originally derived from distribution in both the Direct and Intermediated sales channels, but soon grew to include lending, training, marketing, call centre management, product development, financial management, and business acquisition. I spent almost four years delivering my own training course advising the equity release sector, bringing hundreds of IFA’s and advisers into the market and equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed to be successful. I regularly write articles on the opportunities within this market and speak at industry events. I’m also a member of the Equity Release Council board as well as having an industry blog in Mortgage Strategy magazine. Outside of Pure, you may find me out on my boat, holidaying at my house in France or skiing with family and friends, I do like to keep myself busy!.

CEO

Suzanne Latimer

I have been with Pure since day one in 2013, and have thrived from seeing us grow from just the three of us then to over 120 of us in our own bespoke offices in 2019. I love the values we have set and the culture in which we all embody. I'm from Northumberland but have been in Yorkshire for some time, the accent hasn't left me though! I enjoy watching Tennis, Andy Murray is my hero, and you may also find me enjoying the odd glass/bottle of wine too!

Head of Mortgage Servicing

Joanne Shippey

I have worked in HR since 2003 and have loved every minute of it! I find the world of HR challenging, constantly evolving, engaging and very rewarding. Working alongside and in collaboration with our CEO, the Senior Management Team and Managers across the business to deliver the people strategy is my day to day, and dealing with the variety of personalities and work styles is very rewarding. Our culture is the best I have worked in which comes from the top down. It allows for autonomy in your role and to really input and shape the business and to shine in your career. Outside of Pure, you will find me either on a yoga mat or on the tennis court, both of which allow for a good balance in my life.

Head of HR

Ed Halliwell

After university I attended the College of Law before joining Barclays Bank Plc to handle their complaints just as the endowment selling scandal hit in the late 90’s. I then joined Cavendish Equity Release, one of the few equity release intermediaries in UK and Reversionary lenders in the UK at the time. After this I joined Pure in June 2015 and I am committed to making the compliance regime in Pure transparent and approachable. In my spare time I would like to have hobbies but I spend most of my time playing taxi for my three children and unblocking the shower plughole due to hair blockages. A pass time made all the more horrific as it reminds me of my own lack of hair. I recall the 80’s and 90’s and therefore have a distant recollection of when chart music was good.

Head of Compliance

Simon Hayton

Why do I travel over a hundred miles a day across the Pennines? Because working at Pure is worth it. From the top down we’re passionate about what we do and how we do it. Most importantly, we do it with integrity. I’ve worked nearly 20 years in Financial Services across processing, administration, sales, underwriting and operations for both brokers and lenders and there aren’t many companies like Pure. What do I do? Ultimately, I try to; add value wherever I can, improve processes, maintain systems, give guidance, answer the difficult questions, support innovation, and play more guitar. When I’m not working you’ll find me in my home city of Manchester either rehearsing with my band “Voodoo Cartel”, mixing the odd cocktail or out and about seeing live music.

Chief Operations Officer (COO)

Rachel Pease

The great thing about my role is that it’s so varied – always lots going on to get my teeth into, and I get to indulge my creative side which is great. In my spare time I use any excuse to socialise, from games nights to gin club to a Yorkshire take on Come Dine With Me. I also like to take advantage of Leeds great theatre shows and travel as much as I possibly can – unlikely to fit in a visit to every country in one lifetime but I can try!.

Head of Marketing and Communications

Chris Flowers

Working for Pure Retirement is like no other company I’ve worked for, it has a great atmosphere and is like one big family. My role involves being the face of Pure in the South, meeting brokers and helping them find solutions for their clients. This role means a lot of driving, so this means when I am not working I enjoy nothing more than putting my feet up watching a bit of reality TV or in the gym running off the alcohol from a night out with my friends. I think my colleagues would describe me as loud, challenging, knowledgeable and dedicated.

Head of Intermediary Sales

Andrew Clare

Well, with a long career encompassing banks, building societies and solicitors, it is great to have recently joined Pure Retirement as Head of Operations. I am passionate about working for an organisation that really values people and Pure does just that. Away from work I am a real family person, and enjoy exploring the Yorkshire Dales with my family and our dog.

Head of Operations

Amanda Bastow

I have worked in Financial Services for many years, in senior Audit and Risk roles, most recently at UK Asset Resolution as Head of Risk. I joined Pure in October 2020, at a very exciting time as the business continues to thrive and grow and I am delighted to be a part of the next phase of Pure's strategy. I am thoroughly enjoying working with some great people in a fresh and supportive culture, refining our approach to Governance and Risk Management. In my spare time, I have an eye for a bargain, with a particular interest in recycling old furniture from the 60/70's, loving the history behind it and the opportunity to give it a new home. Not one for sitting still, I also love a good adventure and in recent years have enjoyed exploring Italy's vast coast line on various road trips, definitely a favourite to the point I now enjoy driving around the Yorkshire Dales in our recently purchased, very small but mighty 1970's yellow Fiat 500. The classic car bug continues, with a Series 1 Land Rover purchase hopefully on the horizon.

Head of Risk

John Wilson

I have over 19 years' financial services experience in the banking, building society and government sectors and extensive experience within mortgages, servicing, treasury (including capital markets and asset and liability management), assets sales, secured funding and migration projects. I joined Pure in 2019 and am currently is responsible for Propositions, Business Intelligence and Products.

Head of Proposition

Brendan Gilligan

I have 10 years' experience in Product roles in both Bank and Building Society settings developing innovative, customer centric solutions across Mortgages, Savings and Current Accounts. I joined Pure in 2019 to help set up and establish the Product Team where I'm responsible for product strategy, design and governance.

Head of Products

Eleanor Thornhill

Chief Finance Officer

Michelle Hawley

I have been working at Pure for 18 months now. I am an underwriter at Pure and also work in the servicing team. The thing I most enjoy is the fact that we provide excellent customer service. We are rewarded for working hard and I do not feel that we are just another number. We are appreciated. I am married to Dean and have two boys Mathew who is 27 and Lewis who is 17. In my spare time I have just taken up cycling which is great fun and a good way to keep fit. Although, I won’t be doing the tour de France any time soon there is nothing better than been out in the fresh air burning those calories.

Laura Baxter

I have worked in mortgages for 12 years and joined Pure in October last year. I’m on the servicing team and enjoy the variety of work from underwriting applications to dealing directly with customers who want to port their lifetime mortgage. Working at Pure is totally different to what I&rqsuo;m used to as it is a smaller company. However, you do feel valued here and everyone works well together. Outside of work I like spending time with my son, going out with friends, doing boot camps and doing random things like skydiving, I am always looking for a challenge.

Patrick Courtney

Having joined the company in May 2017 I am still fairly new to Pure but the office environment is very friendly and I have been made to feel part of the team. Being part of a smaller company gives me greater job satisfaction as you can see the day-to-day impact you are having. In my spare time I am usually either playing football or at Elland Road cheering on Leeds United. I enjoy travelling and I have spent a year in Australia and South East Asia.

Beth Lavin

Since joining Pure as a member of the Mortgage Application Support Team in 2017 I have moved into our Customer Account Servicing Team, where I proudly contribute to servicing over 1 billion pounds' worth of lending. In my spare time, I enjoy exploring stately homes, string-based classical music and whipping up a croquembouche or 7

Leanne Richards

Working at Pure is all about great people, great customer service & a great atmosphere! All of these are something I feel passionate about & is what attracted me to the Customer Account Manager Role in the first place.

Joanne Longbottom

I have worked in financial services for about 21 years with a short deviation into waste management but this wasn’t for me. My main role in life has been raising my children, however they're all grown up now so I have a lot more time to fill, my weekends are usually spent going out for long walks with my dog - Peppa, I love being outside in the fresh air.

Jodie Hollingdrake

I have recently joined Pure and also recently relocated to Leeds. My background has mainly been within Finance roles. I am enjoying my new role in the Servicing team so far and have been made to feel very welcome. In my spare time I love to travel and spend time with my pooch Roo who is a miniature Dachshund/Beagle.

Annabel Taylor

I've now been in financial services for four years and before joining Pure I was working as a Mortgage Adviser. My role at Pure involves the servicing of existing Lifetime Mortgages which means every day is very different. Prior to moving into financial services I've worked in a variety of different industries including journalism, Heritage and more recently, the Church of England. I like to fill my spare time with lots of hobbies and I'll usually be either hiking with my dog, Pip, travelling around the UK exploring medieval sites or frequenting vintage fairs.

Oliver Turner

I have recently joined Pure after a number of years working within financial services. From first impressions the culture, ambition and general atmosphere of the company make it a really great place to work. Pure is full of ambitious people with great career aspirations which makes coming to work a pleasure.

Abigail Walton

I have worked in financial services for about 21 years for National Australia Group in various roles and then Age Partnership in Risk and Compliance. I was ready for challenges new so have headed to Pure and loving it! My spare time (not that there is much of that!) is spent with family, husband and children keeping us busy albeit 3 are supposed to be grownups! I love swimming, exploring different countries when we can and socialising with friends, any excuse for a gin but not all at the same time!

Emma Hudson

I started Pure Retirement in February 2020, you’ll find me either at Emerald Headingley Stadium watching the best rugby league team around Leeds rhinos or in the Servicing Team as a Customer Account Manager. I previously worked at Yorkshire Bank since leaving school until my role was redundant, I learnt various roles & ended my career with them as a Mortgage Adviser. I absolutely love Pure Retirement’s values & enjoy coming to work every day & working alongside my work family J Outside of work apart from been a Rhinos fan I enjoy watching Leeds United, watching Boxing, Gym, Concerts, Shopping & socializing.

Georgia Moore

I joined Pure as a customer account administrator in August 2020. I’ve been made to feel very welcome by everyone and look forward to progressing within the company.

Jennifer Caul

I joined Pure in August 2020 and you will find me in the servicing department within the admin team. Before Pure I worked in the Re-Mortgage sector for 3 years and also had a quick stint in Conveyancing. I'm a bit of a crazy dog lady, if you tell me you have a dog I will be your best friend. I only have the one myself a 4 year old golden Labrador called Max but he definitely keeps me on my toes.

Adam Coppen

I joined Pure on the 5 October 2020 and I work in the account servicing team. I have really enjoyed my time here so far the people are really friendly and approachable and look forward to many years and progressing my career in Pure. Before Pure I worked for Computershare for 14 years working in credit management on a number of different roles and cases. My spare time is mainly spent with friends and family and making the most of life. I love being in the sun so try and get abroad as much as I can. I also am a big football fan and to the disgust of many I'm sure, I am a Manchester United Fan.

Bev Butler

I have recently joined Pure Retirement in July. I have over 20 years financial services experience, across many roles all within the residential mortgage sector. I wanted a change of direction in specialising in equity release and Pure values aligned to my own working way especially the honesty and simplicity. And it's great to here and see these values being demonstrated in the team I am part of. In my spare time, I enjoy going to different holiday destinations, seeing live bands and socialising with family and friends.

Carla Roberts

I have recently joined pure and everyone has been so welcoming, I can see from my short time here it has a great culture. I have 9 years' experience in the financial sector and have varied experience ranging from underwriting, collections, compliance and business change. In my spare time I enjoy travelling, music and Formula 1.

Leanne East

I joined Pure Retirement at the beginning of November, so I am very new to the company, but I have been made to feel really welcome. I have 22 years financial services experience and have worked in both residential mortgages and customer savings. Redundancy from my previous role gave me the opportunity to broaden my horizons. I enjoy spending time with my family: I have 2 children who are 8 and 14 and they keep me busy. I enjoy reading, walking the dog, going to the theatre and concerts and travelling. My husband and kids would say that I am obsessed with Disneyworld, but I would disagree and say that I am just enthusiastic.

Victoria Sutcliffe

Hi, I'm Victoria and I joined Pure in October, having only been able to spend 2 days in the office so far, I have been made to feel so welcome and just love the fact that I already feel part of a wider work family. I have over 32 years financial services experience, having worked for Santander for 30 years in various roles but mostly as a Mortgage and Protection Advisor and more recently for an IFA network assessing the advice provided by the brokers. Having never personally given advice on Equity Release mortgages, I am now enjoying the new challenge that working for Pure brings and learning all about this side of the industry. I love to travel and as a family our favorite holiday is skiing, there is nothing better than the amazing scenery, fresh air and of course the après ski. We are also a huge Rugby family and I am very proud to support my nephew Alex who plays for Leeds Rhino's. In my spare time I love to bake, so once we are all back in the office watch out for all the cakes and treats I will be bringing in!

Roisin Hemingway

Hi I'm Roisin, I started in September. I love my cats, food and having fun! Really enjoying my time at Pure so far and can't wait to progress in the company

Sheona Wilkinson

Hi I'm Sheona, I joined the Servicing Department as a Property Administration manager in July 2020. Before Pure, I worked within the Mortgage Completions team as well as the Complaints team for Barclays Bank. My spare time is spent with my family and my animals. Ideally either going out for a ride on one of the horses or disappearing for the day taking the dog for a walk.

Michael Wrigglesworth

Grace Laidman

Jennifer Macey

Rachel Elsworth

Hi, I’m Rachel Elsworth and started my new role on the Customer Account Servicing Team at the beginning of May. I have previously worked at Barclays Mortgages in Leeds for a number of years where I was in a Servicing department dealing with incoming payments. One of the things I like to do is take a city break with New York top of my list for favourite places. I love to eat out and try new places, see a live music or theatre event and really enjoy spending time with my friends.

Rahul Roda

Richard East

Toni Foster

Hi, I’m Toni. I joined Pure on the 4th May 2021 as part of the Customer Account Admin Team. I have really enjoyed my time so far. Everyone is so friendly, welcoming and approachable. I have always worked in Financial Services, first of all starting at Nationwide Building Society followed by a role at Pricwaterhouse Coopers. In 2017 I took a two year career break to work and travel in Australia. I did some pretty shocking jobs but loved every minute of it. At home in Wakefield it’s myself, my partner James and our crazy kitten Charles.

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Meet the Team

Senior Leadership Team