Child, 51, has over 25 years of experience in financial services in the UK. He started his career at the Bank Of England, where he spent 10 years in the banking division before moving to DBS Management PLC (latterly Misys Financial Services) where he spent 12 years and had board responsibility for compliance and technology.
In 2003 Child joined The Exchange as managing director at a crucial time in its development, successfully taking the company through its acquisition by Vertex, where he was appointed to the main board which included responsibility for the L & P outsourcing division, and more recently the acquisition by Lloyds Development Capital (LDC).
He led the business through the acquisitions of 1st Software and more recently N4 and the company’s significant growth during this seven year period was substantially a result of his vision, commitment and execution skills.
Child said: “It’s a genuine pleasure to be joining BDLS at such an interesting and dynamic period of the company’s development. Both businesses have performed exceptionally well during these challenging times which is a testament to the company’s talented management and staff, strong business model and excellent customer proposition.
“I look forward to working with this proven team and the outstanding technology, innovations and heritage of Baigrie Davies and LifeSearch, positioning the business for growth by taking advantage of the changes proposed in the Retail Distribution Review.”
Tom Baigrie, managing director of LifeSearch, said: “We are delighted to announce David Child’s appointment as chairman. David brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the group having spent much of his career in senior management positions across technology and financial services distribution. BDLS is looking forward to David’s leadership of the board as the respective companies continue to develop their market leading propositions.”
Ian McKenna of Financial Technology Research Centre added: "David is one of a very small group of people who have played leading roles at both a major financial advice business and a scale technology supplier. As such his talents and experience should be invaluable for Baigrie Davies LifeSearch as they evolve their businesses to address the many challenges of the 21st century and delivering advice in a digital world."
