Rebecca McNeil CEO of Close Brothers Retail to be the new FLA Chair

The Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) has today announced the appointment of Rebecca McNeil as the new Chair of the Association, with effect from 30 November. She succeeds Richard Jones, who has held this post since 2017.

Rebecca is currently Chief Executive Officer at Close Brothers Retail and was previously CEO at Close Brothers Motor Finance. Her industry experience includes senior roles in Barclays as MD of the Asset Finance division, COO for Barclays Business and MD of Product for all business and corporate lending. In addition, she brings a wealth of consumer finance experience from her time at GE Money and AMEX.

Richard Jones, Chair of the FLA, said:

“I have thoroughly enjoyed Chairing the FLA over the last 4 years, in particular through the recent challenges we have faced into as an industry. I’m delighted to be handing over the reins to Rebecca, her knowledge of FLA markets and her insights on the challenges facing lenders position Rebecca well. I wish Rebecca every success in helping the FLA steer through its next chapter, including the challenges and opportunities of Net Zero.

Rebecca McNeil, Chief Executive Officer at Close Brothers said:

“I’m honoured to be joining the FLA Board. The Association is a formidable advocate for our industry because of its broad membership – that expertise will be vital as we seek the necessary regulatory reform to improve our business environment so that we can ultimately drive good customer outcomes across everything we do.

Stephen Haddrill, Director General of the FLA, added:

“On behalf of the Board and the FLA staff, I would like to thank Richard for his service during the last four years. He has provided strong leadership and insight to the Association throughout his tenure and particularly through the pandemic. We are all delighted Rebecca will be our Chair and look forward to working with her.”

 Note to editors:

1. Rebecca McNeil is CEO of Close Brothers Retail
2. In 2020, FLA members provided £113 billion of new finance to UK businesses and households. £86 billion of this was in the form of consumer credit representing over a third of total new consumer credit written in the UK in 2020. £27 billion of finance was provided to businesses and the public sector. FLA members financed more than a third of UK investment in machinery, equipment and purchased software in the UK in 2020.
3. For media enquiries, please contact the FLA press office on 020 7420