The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) has announced that Louisa Sedgwick has stepped down as the trade body’s first female chair.

This follows the news that Sedgwick will be leaving her position of managing director, mortgages at Vida at the end of March.

Accord Mortgages managing director and current deputy chair at IMLA, Jeremy Duncombe, will step into the role with immediate effect.

IMLA said that since taking the position of chair in November 2019, Sedgwick has played a central role in orchestrating IMLA’s stakeholder engagement and proactive activity. The trade body has published several industry reports and consultation responses under her tenure, and also maintained close ties with the government, Treasury, Bank of England, and the regulator to continue to promote members’ interests.

Sedgwick will leave her current position at Vida at the end of March and will be joining Tandem Bank on 1 October after a period of gardening leave.

She said: “IMLA plays a fundamental role in supporting intermediary lenders by providing them with a unified voice, as well as a forum to discuss and debate key industry issues. I would have loved to have finished my full term as IMLA’s first female chair, however, I know the association is in safe hands with Jeremy.”

IMLA executive director, Kate Davies, commented: “I am very grateful to Louisa for all the hard work she has done during her time as chair – some of which is not directly visible to all members, but which is nonetheless extremely important in representing members’ views to those who need to hear them.

“She has been pivotal in adding value to our membership throughout an extremely challenging 14-month period, and it’s disappointing that she’s unable to continue in this role for the remainder of her term. We wish her every success in her new role and look forward to welcoming her back into our ranks later this year.

“In the meantime, we’re delighted that Jeremy, who has long been a trusted member of IMLA’s Management Committee, is to take over as chair.”

Duncombe added: “We’re all sad to see Louisa step down and we look forward to welcoming her back as soon as possible. She has made great strides in her time as chair, and I look forward to picking up where she left off, working hard to support IMLA’s membership over the coming months.”

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