British Business Bank names top civil servant Kristen McLeod CBE as new chief strategy officer
British Business Bank (BBB) has appointed Kristen McLeod CBE as its new chief strategy officer (CSO), effective September 2024.
British Business Bank appoints Kristen McLeod as CSO
McLeod, who has had a 19-year career in the UK civil service, joins the firm from HM Treasury, where she has served as advisor to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on growth, investment, and business since October 2022.
Speaking on the move, McLeod says she will oversee the bank’s economics, policy, and strategy teams, working to achieve its strategic objectives of “driving sustainable growth, backing innovation, unlocking potential, and working to build the modern, green economy”.
The bank’s new CSO started her career as a policy advisor at the UK Department of Health, progressing to the role of director of strategy in 2015. In this capacity, she led a 100-strong strategy and implementation unit.
In her most recent role at HM Treasury, she supported the Chancellor of the Exchequer in developing the growth strategy for the UK economy.
Established in 2014, British Business Bank works to boost the availability of finance for UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through its various programmes, claiming to support over 90,000 smaller businesses.
In March, BBB introduced the second iteration of its Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF II), designed to bolster the growth of SMEs throughout the North of England.
