Judging panel 2021

Chair of the judges: Adam Cadle, Editor, MoneyAge
Stephen Allinson, Solicitor and Licensed Insolvency Practitioner
Claire Aynsley, Head of Regulatory Compliance and Standards, Credit Services Association
Brian Seal, Chief Credit Officer, Atom Bank

Chair of the judges: Adam Cadle, Editor, MoneyAge
Adam Cadle is a business and finance journalist with ten years’ experience, and is currently the editor of Insurance Asset Management, overseeing the rise of the brand for the past four years. He also has editorship of MoneyAge, the leading brand for IFAs, mortgage brokers and the financial services sector. He previously worked as deputy editor on Pensions Age and European Pensions. Adam has chaired a number of judging panels over the years both in the personal finance and insurance asset management spaces. He is a graduate from Sussex University with a BA honours in French and History and is NCTJ qualified.

Stephen Allinson, Solicitor and Licensed Insolvency Practitioner
Stephen is a solicitor and licensed insolvency practitioner who has specialised in business law, credit, debt, and insolvency work since 1987, and has extensive experience in dealing with the full range of these procedures. Prior to setting up his own consultancy in 2008, he was a business recovery and insolvency partner at a major law firm. He currently undertakes consultancy for several legal firms as well as pursuing other projects in the legal, insolvency and credit fields. Stephen is a popular and sought-after lecturer on insolvency and debt related matters to accountants, solicitors, bankers, company officers and credit managers. He is very involved in legal education, chairing the Assessment board for the Chartered Institute of Credit Management, and sitting as a member of the Qualifications Committee of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives. He also previously acted as a Technical Consultant to both Credit and Insolvency Today magazines and chaired for several years the premier Insolvency and Rescue Awards scheme for the turnaround, rescue, and insolvency industry. He was a senior member and Chair of ACCA’s disciplinary processes for several years and is now one of the Chairmen of the Methodist Church Disciplinary Process. In 2012 he was appointed the Deputy Independent Examiner for the Actuarial Profession. In 2013 he became Chairman of the Joint Insolvency Examination Board which oversees the examination and appointment of new Insolvency Practitioners and in June 2015 he was appointed as a Non-Executive Board Member of The Insolvency Service and the Chairman of the Board in January 2017. Thus, he is very involved at the heart of policy and procedure for the insolvency profession.

Claire Aynsley, Head of Regulatory Compliance and Standards, Credit Services Association
Claire joined the Credit Services Association in 2002. She has played a vital role in the progression of the Association and is now Head of Regulatory Compliance and Standards, continuing to support and guide members. Claire's dedication and passion for the industry have greatly enhanced the status of the Association, forging strong relationships with regulatory bodies and other industry stakeholders to ensure the CSA is at the forefront of any regulatory and legislative changes.

Brian Seal, Chief Credit Officer, Atom Bank
Brian joined Atom as Chief Credit Officer in September 2014 and worked as part of the senior team to obtain a banking licence, secure external investment and launch a range of lending products. He has over 25 years’ experience of working in risk management in financial services having worked in the UK and abroad for both established lenders such as HSBC, GE and Bradford & Bingley as well as challenger banks, The Home & Savings Bank and Atom Bank. Brian has significant experience of credit life cycle responsibility for various secured, unsecured and transactional lending portfolios in addition to capital and liquidity risk and wider enterprise risk management. Brian holds a BSc in Systems Modelling from Sheffield Hallam University and is an affiliate member of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management.