The Chief Executive of Darlington Building Society has announced his retirement from the role after seven successful years, leading the organisation through a transformational period in its history.
Andrew Craddock will step down at the 2026 AGM on April 27, after a distinguished 40-year career in financial services, 12 of them as a CEO in the mutual sector.
He will leave his post after a milestone year for Darlington Building Society, which is on track to grow its assets to more than £1b in 2025, as well as reach the £1m mark for charitable donations through its annual pledge to donate five per cent of its profits to local good causes.
This year also marks the 250th anniversary of the building society movement, as well as the Society supporting the bicentennial of the Stockton & Darlington Railway as a headline sponsor of the Hopetown railway museum.
Andrew said: “It has been a privilege to be a steward of the Society’s progress over the past seven years, and I’m proud of what we have achieved. It has also been a joy to get to know this fantastic part of the country, and the people who live here.
“In 2026, the Society will celebrate its 170th anniversary of encouraging savings and supporting homeownership, and it feels like an appropriate time to hand over the baton to a new Chief Executive to build on the firm foundations that are in place and take the Society to the next station on its journey into the future.”
Darlington Building Society chair Rachel Court said: “Andrew has been an incredibly successful and transformative CEO of the Society for the past seven years, having led the modernisation of our systems, the implementation of our online savings capability, the enhancement of our culture and our offering to members, and perhaps most crucially of all, having contributed massively to the Society’s presence in and support of our local communities.
“Andrew really has been a fantastic role model for everything that’s good about the Building Society sector and will be massively missed when he retires next year.
Jack Cullen, who was chair for the past 10 years, added: “Appointing Andrew as Chief Executive was undoubtedly the best decision I made. He has been an inspirational leader who turned an ambitious strategy into a reality during a transformational period.”
Before moving to the North East, Andrew’s career included posts with Barclays Bank, Allied Irish Bank and Buckinghamshire Building Society.
He became CEO of Darlington Building Society in 2018 when the organisation was in need of a new strategic direction and significant investment to modernise its services. With a clear long-term vision, and a strong appetite for change, he set out to grow the Society, eliminate and reduce some legacy risks, and lay the foundations for growth and sustainability.
Under his leadership, the Darlington’s total assets have grown 63%, from £612m to over £1bn, and by diversifying and broadening the mortgage proposition, he has improved the net interest margin from 1.7% to over 2%.
This has led to improved profitability, building the reserves by 25% from £44m in 2018 to £55m at the end of 2024.
Andrew has overseen the largest investment programme in the Darlington’s 170-year history, including migrating the IT infrastructure to the Cloud, launching digital platforms for mortgage origination and servicing and digital savings, and refurbishing or relocating all the branches.
“This programme has modernised the Society, improved resilience and security, and enabled the organisation to provide better products and services to meet member needs,” added Andrew.
Under his leadership, the number of employees has increased by 40%, from 140 in 2018 to just under 200 in 2025. The Society has also maintained a two-star rating from Best Companies, which described the Darlington an “outstanding company to work for with high levels of engagement”.
He signed the Society up to the Real Living Wage Foundation, the Women in Finance Charter, the Mortgage Industry Mental Health Charter, the Armed Forces Covenant, and more recently, the Society has obtained the Gold Autism Acceptance Standard from the North East Autism Society.
The investment in branches, technology and people, and a sustained drive to improve member experience has led to the Net Promoter Score (NPS) rating improving from +88.9 in 2018 to +91.6 in 2025. Member satisfaction also improved from 97.7% in 2018 to 98.8% in 2025, with both measures leading the mutual sector, according to independent surveys conducted by Smart Money People.
This member and broker experience has also been recognised externally with the Society winning numerous awards over the past seven years including “Building Society of the Year”.
Andrew has ensured that the Darlington’s profits – generated across England, Scotland and Wales – have been invested back into the North East to support the most vulnerable in society through the organisation’s 5% Pledge. He has provided visible leadership to these initiatives and has worked closely with County Durham Community Foundation, The Bread-and-Butter Thing, Theatre Hullabaloo, Darlington Credit Union, St. Teresa’s Hospice, Wize Up Financial Education, Daisy Chain Project, North East Autism Society, and the 700 Club.
