Fairstone appoints new CFO and strengthens finance team

Fairstone, one of the UK’s fastest growing wealth advisory firms, today announces the expansion of its senior leadership team with Simon Wilson joining as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

With almost 30 years of professional experience, Simon has worked at an executive level across a range of sectors including fund management, business services, real estate and media.

Throughout his extensive career, Simon was CFO at River and Mercantile Group PLC which had £50bn of assets under management and CFO of Topland Group PLC, one of UK’s largest privately owned investment companies. He has also served as Managing Director of Corporate Finance at Pacific Investments the multi-asset fund management group.

Fairstone CEO Lee Hartley said: “I’m absolutely delighted to welcome Simon to Fairstone. His highly valuable sector experience adds additional breadth and depth to our executive team and his contribution will enable us to continue on our growth trajectory whilst ensuring we become a fitter business at the same time. We’re moving into a new phase of our journey and Simon will provide us with the additional skillset that we need to push further on.”

The appointment comes at the same time as existing Finance Director, Simon Pile steps up to the role of Chief Accounting Officer with responsibility for the group’s core finance function across the UK.

He continued: “From the outset we have always advocated internal progression and this appointment is the latest evidence of that. Simon Pile has done an exceptional job for the company over several years and it gives me great pleasure to see him move into a C-suite role and be able to take ownership over a far larger part of our business.

“I am highly confident that together, Wilson and Pile will provide the power that the business needs to achieve our next set of objectives.”

Simon Wilson added: “Fairstone’s phenomenal growth trajectory has been incredibly impressive, and I am delighted to be joining the team. The group has made significant progress in recent years on a number of fronts, and I am very much looking forward to contributing to this success.”

Simon Wilson’s appointment marks the departure of former CFO, Iain Jamieson who leaves the group after three and a half years.

Hartley added: “It was always Iain’s intention to work at Fairstone for 3-4 years up to the point of our next Private Equity transaction which we secured in early 2021. For both us and Iain, now is the right time for him to retire from Fairstone. I thank Iain for the hard work, dedication and leadership he has brought to Fairstone and wish him all the very best for the future.”

The strengthening of the finance function complements Fairstone’s strategic growth plans. Following the group’s expansion into Ireland in 2022 the business now has a headcount of over 1,100 people, gross fee income of £120m and plans to build out its regional hub infrastructure at a much more significant level over the coming years.

Fairstone, which incorporates one of the UK’s largest Chartered financial planning firms, is independently ranked the number one wealth management house on Trustpilot. The group has over 50 locations across the UK with a head office in Newcastle and a large London presence in its City office. Fairstone currently oversees £15 Billion of capital for over 50,000 wealth clients.

Interested in joining us?

We offer a number of roles across the UK for a vast range of skill sets, take a look at what’s currently available below or find out more about working within Fairstone.