“I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved” Progeny Group founder Neil Moles announces an evolution in his role; Tom Wood to be named as Group CEO, and the appointment of Bobby Ndawula as Group CFO
Neil Moles, Founder of Progeny Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Tom Wood as Chief Executive Officer.
Since 2008 when Neil led the MBO of what is now Progeny Group, Neil’s leadership and drive has seen Progeny establish itself as a pioneer in the industry; that combines market leading capability across chartered financial planning, asset management, tax advice and a breadth of legal services including private and corporate clients.
In the past three years the Group has scaled significantly and at pace; with over £9 billion in assets under management and over 700 colleagues in the UK, UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong and Belgium.
Neil Moles will continue to work closely with the team as a Non-Executive Director and President of the Group, where his depth and breadth of experience will be invaluable to the Group. Neil is also pleased to announce the appointment of Bobby Ndawula as Group CFO.
These management appointments represent the culmination of planned leadership evolution that commenced in 2024 with the appointment of Tom Wood as CFO, the hiring of Tim Gillman as COO and the appointment of Ewen Stevenson as Chair, designed to ensure that Progeny has a best-in-class management team as it continues to scale the size and scope of its operations.
Neil Moles said: “Having founded and led the Group for over sixteen years, I have decided after much reflection to step down from my role as CEO and become a Non-Executive Director. This decision, while difficult, is the right step for me, my family, and ultimately for our business. I have huge pride in and gratitude for the team that I have worked with over many years and without whom Progeny would not be what it is today.
“I’m delighted to confirm that Tom will succeed me as CEO. He is ideally suited to lead the next phase of growth and has been our CFO since February 2024. Tom brings a wealth of experience, ambition and strategic focus to Progeny Group. His proven track record leading successful and dynamic growth in regulated financial services gives me real confidence in the future.
“It is really pleasing that we can also announce the appointment of Bobby Ndawula as Group Chief Financial Officer. Previously the Group CFO of Skipton Group, Bobby is highly experienced across financial services and his arrival further strengthens our executive team.
“In my capacity as a significant shareholder and Non-Executive Director I plan to remain actively involved with Progeny on a go forward basis and look forward to supporting Tom and the team.”
Tom Wood, incoming Group CEO said: “I am honoured to take on the role of CEO at Progeny Group. Neil has built an incredible company, and I am excited to lead it into its next chapter of growth and innovation. I am also delighted to welcome Bobby to the Group. He brings extensive experience in financial services, having, until recently, been the CFO of Skipton Group. I very much look forward to working with him in the continued growth and development of Progeny. We have fantastic opportunities ahead and our focus will remain on delivering exceptional value to our clients through comprehensive wealth management, tax and legal advisory services. I want to ensure that we continue our commitment to staying at the forefront of the industry and meeting the evolving needs of our clients. We have 700 fantastic colleagues whose contribution is at the heart of our development.”
Bobby Ndawula, incoming Group CFO said: “I’m delighted to be joining the team at Progeny, with its unique multi-disciplinary proposition and excellent client service. I feel the company shares my passion for building and coaching inclusive, high performing teams that create and deliver value for clients and stakeholders.”
Ewen Stevenson, Chair of Progeny Holdings Limited said: “I am delighted to have people of Tom and Bobby’s calibre and track record to lead Progeny Group into our next phase of growth. I would like to thank Neil for his outstanding dedication to the Group, having successfully built Progeny to what it is today. Neil remains committed to the business, and I look forward to continuing to work with him on the next phase of growth.
“As Progeny Group embarks on this new chapter, the company remains dedicated to its core values of innovation, client-centricity, and excellence. With Tom at the helm and Neil’s continued involvement, Progeny Group continues to be well-positioned to deliver outstanding results for its clients.”
Appointments are subject to regulatory approval.
For further information, please contact:
Progeny Group
Richard Ellis, Director of Communications
07990 688500
Camarco
Louise Dolan, Senior Director
07446 870025
NOTES TO EDITORS
Tom Wood’s Biography
Tom joined Progeny in February 2024 as Chief Financial Officer. With 25 years executive leadership in financial services as a CFO and CEO, Tom has broad experience in private equity and private capital backed growth.
Throughout his career Tom has focused on strategically dynamic and challenging opportunities that have included leading Shawbrook Group plc through its successful IPO and entry into the FTSE 250 and co-advising on the recapitalisation of the Co-Operative Bank plc, subsequently leading the dynamic and successful restructure of the bank. Alongside his breadth of executive leadership experience Tom is also an experienced independent advisor, non-executive director, charity trustee and investor.
Tom believes passionately in the power of building high performing teams and businesses through coaching and developing trust and empowerment to deliver excellent outcomes for clients, colleagues and broader stakeholders.
Tom splits his time between Yorkshire and London with a focus on family and friends and has a keen interest in Scottish rugby.
Bobby Ndawula’s Biography
Over the past 25 years, Bobby has gained a wealth of experience in Financial Services. He has held several senior and board level roles across finance, risk and IT. He started his career at KPMG, where he qualified as a chartered accountant. His most recent role was at Skipton Group, where he was the Group Chief Financial Officer. Bobby is also an experienced non-executive director, and a Trustee of Yorkshire Cancer Research.
Bobby lives in Leeds with his family, and alongside spending time with family and friends, he also enjoys running and playing the piano.
About Progeny Group
Progeny is the first and only B Corp Certified firm in the UK to bring together Chartered financial planning, asset management, tax, HR and private and corporate legal services. Established in 2016, the business has grown rapidly, making several acquisitions and expanding from the UK into UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong and Belgium.
The business has £9 billion in assets under management, 34 offices across the UK and over 700 colleagues.
About Further Global
Further Global Capital Management is an employee-owned private equity firm that makes investments in businesses within the financial services and business services industries. Further Global investment professionals have a longstanding history of investing in regulated financial services businesses across insurance, depository and wealth management. Further Global seeks out situations in which its extensive network, operational expertise and capital can drive significant value. Further Global has raised $3 billion of cumulative committed and invested capital.
