NatWest Group has announced that Lena Wilson will take over as senior independent director, succeeding Mark Seligman who will retire on 31 March.

Ms Wilson, a former chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, joined the board in 2018. She will continue to chair the bank’s performance & remuneration committee.

The bank has also appointed Gill Whitehead as an independent non-executive director with effect from 8 January 2025.

NatWest’s non-executive directors receive an annual fee of £85,000 with the senior independent director paid a further £36,000.

The moves came as the Treasury’s stake in the business fell to below 10%. A further 3.2m shares have been sold into the market, taking the taxpayers’ holding to 9.9%.

Commenting on the board change, Rick Haythornthwaite, chair, said: “I would like to thank Mark Seligman for his significant contribution to the board and its committees since his appointment in April 2017.

“Lena Wilson is a highly experienced board member who has demonstrated strong leadership and is highly regarded by her fellow directors.  I am confident she will make a valuable contribution to the board as senior independent director.”

Ms Whitehead has experience in data science and analytics, emerging customer focused technologies, global technology regulation and digital transformation.

She recently stepped down from her role as group director, online safety at Ofcom.  She currently serves as chair of Rugby World Cup 2025, chair of the audit committee and non-executive director of the British Olympic Association and chair of the audit committee and non-executive director of Informa.