Pure Retirement’s Paul Carter becomes chair in pathway to retirement

Pure Retirement's CEO, Paul Carter, is preparing to transition to a new role as the lender’s chair, beginning a pathway to retirement while continuing to provide strategic oversight and guidance.

During his career in the sector, Paul played a pivotal role in the establishment of the equity release arm of Norwich Union (now Aviva). Additional highlights include a stint at Prudential’s equity release arm, where he met Andrew Thirkill, who subsequently approached Carter in 2013 to create and head up Pure Retirement.

Pure’s current long-time chief operating officer, Simon Hayton, will take over as managing director from April. 

Andrew Thirkill, meanwhile, will pivot from being the lender’s current chair to senior NED, while also transitioning to a broader group chair remit.

Paul Carter commented: “While I undoubtedly remain as passionate about Pure and the wider market as ever, the time is undoubtedly right for a change of role for me, and for a change of leadership for the business. I’ll transition to my new role able to look over the current state of Pure with my head held high, and with unbridled confidence in the leadership team that will continue to head up the company. 

"In Simon, we’re lucky to have someone with a wealth of expertise in the operational side of the business, ensuring that advisers and clients alike will continue to benefit from market-leading service and a carefully considered end-to-end journey, with effective processes in place throughout.

"I’m excited for the next chapter for later life lending in general, and Pure specifically, and look forward to remaining on hand to sharing my insight to help both grow as needed.”

Andrew Thirkill added: “These changes reflect a planned evolution of our governance as Pure continues to scale and remain a renowned lifetime mortgage specialist in a sector that is meeting a real societal need for Britain’s over-55s and their families. I’m delighted that Paul will take on the chair role and that Simon will lead the business day-to-day as managing director, and I will remain closely involved in a senior non-executive capacity, supporting the board and leadership team. This ensures a continued broad and knowledgeable oversight at the forefront of Pure Retirement as we remain committed to delivering strong outcomes for customers and advisers."