Golden Charter Appoints Financial Services Innovation Expert Mark Huggins as Chair

Leading funeral plan provider, Golden Charter, has announced the appointment of Financial Services Innovation Expert Mark Huggins as Chair for a three-year term.

Huggins succeeds John Thornton, who has served for six years as Chair, supporting the business as it prepared for, and successfully secured, regulatory approval by the Financial Conduct Authority last July.

With more than 25 years’ experience driving innovation within the financial services industry, Mark brings a wealth of expertise to the business. He previously held senior leadership roles with the AA, Admiral and Covea and is currently serving as a Non-Executive Director and Chair Designate for insurtech business, Driverly. Mark has acted as a Non-Executive Director on the Golden Charter board since 2018.

Commenting on his appointment, Mark Huggins, Chair of the Golden Charter board, said: “The UK’s independent funeral directors perform a vital and important service for our society day in, day out. I’m really looking forward to working more closely with the Independents who partner with the business and our passionate, professional team.

“For more than thirty years, I have seen business models evolve from product-led to consumer-led. The finance sector has both followed and led in this evolution. Now, the opportunity exists for Golden Charter to drive innovation within the planning sector. Delivered in partnership with its independent funeral director partners, innovation will ensure Golden Charter continues to meet consumer digital expectations whilst providing the personal service which they rightly expect.”

Suzanne Grahame, CEO of Golden Charter, added: “Mark brings an invaluable level of expertise to our board, having seen first-hand how to deliver innovation within a regulated environment successfully over the course of many years.”