Lloyds Banking Group has appointed a new chief legal officer as CLO and group company secretary Kate Cheetham prepares to step down after over two decades at the bank.
Cheetham has been with the FTSE 100 bank since 2005, joining what was Lloyds TSB from the corporate department at Linklaters.
After Lloyds TSB became Lloyds Banking Group with the acquisition of HBOS during the financial crisis, she rose through the ranks to become group general counsel in 2015, before stepping up to CLO and company secretary in 2019.
Cheetham will step down as CLO at the end of the year, and will be succeeded as CLO by Ajneet Jassey, who is currently GC for disputes and operations.
Cheetham will remain as group company secretary until a successor for that position is appointed and onboarded.
Jassey joined Lloyds in 2021 with extensive banking experience, having worked at the Bank of England between 2007 and 2019 in a range of roles, including as deputy head of legal, enforcement and litigation and head of compliance, among others. She began her legal career in private practice at legacy Herbert Smith.
In a LinkedIn post announcing her departure, Cheetham said that she intends to focus on her non-executive roles, which include being a commissioner of the Forestry Commission, a director of Forestry England and a trustee of The Wallace Collection.
She wrote: ‘After 21 brilliant years with Lloyds Banking Group I am excited that I will be stepping down as CLO at the end of this year to focus on my non-executive career and absolutely delighted that Ajneet Jassey will take over from me in this role.
She continued: ‘Ajneet will bring outstanding judgement, deep expertise and a real commitment to our people and culture. I know she will be an exceptional CLO and that the Legal & Secretariat function will continue from strength to strength under her leadership.’
She recently joined the board of the Wallace Collection, the London museum which houses a major collection of European fine art. On her non-exec portfolio, she said that the organisations she will work with ‘protect and amplify important parts of our life’, adding that she is ‘thrilled to have more time to contribute to their work.’
A Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson added: ‘Kate has made an outstanding contribution to the Group over more than 20 years on a wide range of legal, regulatory and governance matters, and we thank her for the wise counsel she has consistently provided to our Board and Executive.’
They continued: ‘We are delighted to announce that Ajneet Jassey will take over as the Group’s Chief Legal Officer. Since joining the Group in 2021, Ajneet has established herself as a trusted adviser on some of the most complex issues facing the business and this appointment reflects her expertise, leadership and the strength of talent we are developing across the Group.’
