Joe Brown has joined the financial inclusion charity Guernsey Community Savings in the new role of Chief executive officer.
Joe has had a long career in senior roles in banking, financial and change management in both the private and public sector.
Reporting to the Board, he will lead the charity’s small team, plan and coordinate its services, help to serve clients, and work to reach more islanders who are struggling to access traditional banking services.
GCS founder and Chair Peter Neville said: “With Joe in this role we are well placed to help and support more financially excluded islanders by arranging access for them to a bank account and advising them on managing their budgets. I began working to set up GCS as far back as 2016 and Joe’s appointment enables me to step back from the day-to-day running of GCS while remaining involved as Chair.
“Having recently secured funding to cover GCS’s running expenses, this is another very positive development that places us in a strong position for the future.”
Joe originally came to Guernsey in 1989 for a three-year period with RBS. He returned in 2013 when he joined the States of Guernsey in the Finance function becoming the Assistant states treasurer in 2016, then Head of finance until he left in 2024.
Before this, he enjoyed a rewarding and varied career with RBS for 25 years followed by five years at Tesco Bank where he played an integral part in its exponential growth.
Joe said: “I am wholly behind the vision of GCS to end financial exclusion in the Bailiwick. I spent six years as a Guernsey Child and Youth Community Tribunal member when I arrived in the island and became quickly aware of the amount of poverty and hardship in Guernsey that is hidden from view for most people.
“I can see that the need for GCS is only going to grow, with people struggling to make ends meet, and with it being more and more difficult to perform everyday tasks without a bank account and access to a debit card.
“A favourite part of any of my roles has always been relationships and I’m looking forward to building strong relationships with our clients and with the local community.”
Pictured: Left to right – Joe Brown and Peter Neville.
