Specialist lender Together appoints chief operating officer

A banking heavyweight with more than three decades’ financial services experience has joined specialist lender Together.

Darren Clarke has been appointed the group’s Commercial Finance Chief Operating Officer, and will have responsibility for the lender’s Commercial Finance operational processes and infrastructure to support its ambitious growth strategy.

He joins Together from Redwood Bank, where he worked as Director of Operations for the challenger from its inception in 2017, helping to provide funding for small and medium sized businesses and building a strong balance sheet.

Previously, Darren held positions in retail banking and commercial finance during a 20-year career at HSBC before joining Santander where he led the business banking transformation, among other roles.

The 49-year-old has also attended a number of illustrious business schools, including Cambridge and Warwick Universities and IESE Business School in Madrid, part of the University of Navarra in Barcelona.

Darren said: “It’s such an exciting opportunity to join Together and to use my experiences to build on its amazing success to date. It’s a forward-thinking business which blends technological innovation with real human expertise, and one which puts the customer at the heart of everything they do.

“I’m really looking forward to contributing to the continued growth by helping to create a more resilient and dynamic organisation which is best placed to support British businesses as we begin the return to normality following lockdown.”

His appointment comes as UK-wide lender Together – which has a current loan book of £4billion – continues its programme of transformation and innovation, which includes automating some back office functions to provide smoother journeys for its customers and broker partners.

Marc Goldberg, commercial CEO, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Darren to Together. He has 30 years’ experience working for some of the leading high street lenders. His vast knowledge of risk and compliance, and his proven ability to transform working practices and improve customer journeys will be of huge benefit to our business as we continue to grow.”