The announcement was made at the society’s annual general meeting yesterday. He succeeds retiring president, David Ingram, who has completed his 12 months in office.
Thomas has more than 30 years’ experience in financial services, having begun his career with Lloyds Bank, before joining Bradford & Bingley Building Society during its growth years.
He went on to be appointed general manager of Mortgage Systems Limited in 1987 before establishing Fleet-based Chadney Bulgin in 1993, where he is now joint managing partner.
Personal Finance Society chief executive Keith Richards said: “David brings a broad depth and breadth of experience to the role and I look forward to working closely with him over the coming year to continue the ongoing evolution of the society in support of our members and the public alike.”
An economics graduate from the University of Exeter, Thomas has been a member of the CII for 20 years and a member of the PFS board since 2011.
He said: “I am delighted and honoured to be elected as the society’s new president at such an exciting and crucial stage of opportunity and development.
“The profession has responded well to both RDR and MMR and our focus will be to provide further guidance and a particular emphasis on ‘best practice’ during my presidential year.”
And speaking about David Ingram he said: “David is a great believer in the value of pro-bono work and the value of his efforts is reflected in the recently-revived ‘MoneyPlan’ link with Citizens Advice, whereby generic financial advice will be made available to the general public at 100 of the bureau’s offices throughout the country.
“He also presided over a significant year of growth and achievement for the Personal Finance Society, during which overall membership rose to an all-time high of 35,000, in addition to record figures for individual and corporate chartered members.”
