Nationwide Building Society has appointed Kevin Parry as chair.

Parry, a former chair of the Homes and Communities Agency, has been a non-executive director at the society since 2016. He starts his new role this week, taking over from David Roberts, who stepped down on 31 January.

Parry will also be chair of the nomination and governance committee.

In other board moves at Nationwide, Gunn Waersted has been appointed senior independent director, replacing Parry.

Waersted has been a non-executive director of the society since 2017, and will remain as chair of the board IT and resilience committee and a member of the nomination and governance committee.

Parry said: “Gunn’s wealth of experience, expertise and knowledge is invaluable to the society and its board as we build on our successes and take the society on to the next phase of its development. I am delighted that she has agreed to be the senior independent director (subject to regulatory approval) and I look forward to working with her closely in our new roles”.