Board Members

Stephen is Chief Executive of BCRS Business Loans. With extensive experience in the finance sector, Stephen has secured over £40 million in funding and is responsible for leading and shaping the strategic direction of BCRS.

Emma joined BCRS in September 2024 having enjoyed a varied career – successfully running her own accountancy practice focused on providing accountancy support and leadership to SMEs. As Finance Director, Emma supports Steve and the team to provide funding to help businesses reach their full potential.

Boasting over 20 years’ experience leading British trade associations and as a previous chair of the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association, Paul Smee was appointed as Chair of the Board at our Annual General Meeting in September 2021.

Paul has been a member of the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission since September 2020 and, amongst other roles, was previously chief executive of UK Payments and the Council of Mortgage Lenders. He is also heavily involved with social housing regulation, as deputy chair of the Regulator of Social Housing.

Commenting on his appointment, Paul Smee said: “I am delighted to have joined BCRS Business Loans as chair and relish the opportunity to be part of a rapidly growing organisation that continues to do so much to support the growth and survival of businesses that are unable to access finance from traditional lenders.”

Geoff Edge has had a long career as a regeneration and business support consultant. Prior to establishing Geonomics Ltd in 2007, he was Chairman and later Chairman and Chief Executive of WM Enterprise Ltd. This was a consultancy and venture capital company, which he founded and ran for twenty-five years. He has also held senior positions at PE International plc and WS Atkins plc.

As well as his private sector knowledge, he has wide experience of the public sector. He was MP for Aldridge-Brownhills and served as Parliamentary Private Secretary in the Department of Education and the Privy Council Office. He was Chairman of the Economic Development Committee of the former West Midlands County Council and Leader of Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council.

Russel brings over 35 years of financial and commercial leadership experience across the manufacturing, professional services, charity, and higher education sectors. Since 2020, he has ran his own Recruitment and Management Consultancy, making placements both in the UK and internationally also provides strategic consultancy services across a variety of business disciplines.

Russel Jeans serves as Chairman of the Parish Council and as a Council Member of the Burton & District Chamber of Commerce.

He has held a range of senior positions, including Finance Director, Commercial Director, Chief Operating Officer, Managing Director, Strategic Advisor, Pension Trustee, and Chairman.

Russell believes that BCRS supports ownership, success, and community wealth, and he’s glad to be a part of it as a board member. He also appreciates that the organisation focuses on people, outcomes, and impact rather than profit. Overall, he feels that BCRS genuinely cares about its staff and customers.

Rob has significant experience in financial services, having worked for 2 banks and a building society over the course of the past 37 years. For the past 20 years Rob has specialised in SME finance across England, Scotland and Wales.

Over the past 6 years, Rob has focussed on impact finance which has included providing debt facilities to organisations which facilitate positive social and/or environmental benefits, including CDFIs.

Rob is from West Wales and resides in Cardiff so is well placed to support BCRS’s expansion into Wales.

Supporting SMEs to flourish is of particular interest to Rob and he is keen to use his skills/experience to help BCRS build on its already very impressive track record in this arena.

Lorinda Ryan has spent over thirty years working in banking, primarily with Barclays, where she worked with SME businesses across the Midlands before taking early retirement in 2023. This experience has given her a broad understanding of what it takes to run and manage a business, as well as the support needed to help those businesses succeed.

As a strong believer in giving back, Lorinda now dedicates her free time to supporting Weston Park Foundation, volunteering for Age UK, and serving as Vice Chairman of the governors’ committee at her local schools. During her time at Barclays, she was the lead member of the Barclays Diversity and Inclusion Council for the Midlands, organising training programs to help colleagues from diverse backgrounds reach their full potential. She has also mentored several social enterprise businesses, assisting them with business planning, raising finance, and growth.

Lorinda is committed to the co-operative movement and values honesty and openness in everything she does. Her volunteer roles reflect her dedication to social responsibility and caring for others. She continues to coach and mentor to promote self-help and personal responsibility.

Lorinda Ryan, who is married with two children and was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, moved to the Black Country in 1992.

Barbara Rainford joins BCRS Business Loans as a long-standing advocate of the co-operative movement, of which we are proud to be part of. Having run her own businesses since the age of eighteen, Barbara has extensive experience as an entrepreneur and running SMEs. Barbara is currently Director at the The Midcounties Co-operative and is a Partner at Strawberry Fields.

Barbara is also an experienced Board Member. She currently sits on the Board at The Co-op Press and Shropshire Providers Consortium.

Jacqueline Jones brings extensive experience in operational and transformational change management from various roles within the BT Group.

After 37 years at BT, Jacqueline retired in 2023, having worked as a Programme Director managing major transformation projects. She also volunteered for nine years as a secondary school governor, spending four of those years as Chair of Governors, where she focused on governance and financial management to help students achieve their best.

Jacqueline values integrity and brings a collaborative, approachable style to leadership and governance. With strong strategic advisory skills and commercial insight, she fosters constructive board discussions while supporting innovative ways of working and identifying areas for improvement.

She holds a master’s degree in business from University College London and is a accredited Programme and Change Management practitioner.

Jacqueline is dedicated to the co-operative movement and enjoys giving back to her local community. She is passionate about equality, diversity, and inclusion, having served as a Gender Diversity Lead at BT. She actively promotes inclusive practices and strives to foster equality in every organisation she works with.

She lives in Tamworth, Staffordshire, with my Welsh husband, Martyn, and we have two sons.

Andy is a key member of the leadership team, heads up our Business Development Managers based across the West Midlands and plays a key role in delivering BCRS’ five-year growth strategy to increase lending and social impact.