Oct 24, 2023
Alison Hutchinson CBE is the CEO of Pennies, an award-winning
fintech charity making digital giving affordable, sustainable, and
feel-good. She is also a Senior Independent Director at DFS plc,
Yorkshire Building Society and Foresight Group Holdings Ltd. Alison
was previously a Trustee of the Charities Aid Foundation,
Non-Executive Director of Aviva Life Holdings UK and AIL (General &
Health Insurance), subsidiary boards of Aviva Group plc, LV=, and
of LMAX Exchange. In 2016, she was awarded a CBE for services to
the economy and charities.
Prior to creating Pennies, Alison was CEO of Kensington Group plc,
a role she took over as CEO of the specialist lender in March 2007.
Alison led the turnaround of Kensington as the “credit crunch” took
its grip globally leaving the financial markets with the worst
liquidity crisis ever experienced. Key experiences include: the
sale and delisting of Kensington Group to Investec plc,
diversification of the funding model and a complete integration
programme with Investec plc including a significant downsizing of
the business. She joined Kensington in October 2004 as Managing
Director to diversify the business into broader product segments
and channels. Kensington moved into the FTSE250 after only 5 years
of being in the market and was the first lender to win the Queens
Award for innovation in recognition of the sustained growth and
value they contributed to the specialist lending market.
Previously she was at Barclays, where she was Marketing &
Communications Director for Barclaycard. Other roles have
included Chief Executive Officer of Barclays B2B, the Business
Services subsidiary of Barclays Corporate Banking, as well as
various global senior executive roles at IBM Corporation where she
worked for 14 years working across the globe, running a European
consortium of banks, and latterly leading the global business for
ecommerce solutions for the financial services sector. She
passionately believes in customer service and ensuring executives
spend time in the business and at the coalface where the business
really delivers.
Alison was educated at Strathclyde University where she graduated
at 19 with a BSc in Technology and Business Studies. She is
married with three children and loves fresh air, exercise, and
quality time with her family.