Fairstone Group has brought in industry expert Malcom Kerr as a non-executive director, with immediate effect.

Having worked in the industry for almost 45 years, he has held senior roles at firms including Canada Life, and Albany International. He spent five years with KPMG as a director before joining EY as an executive director and latterly as a senior adviser.

Mr Kerr is a regular chairman, presenter and facilitator at industry events and a frequent contributor to trade and national press.

Fairstone Chairman David Hickey said: “I am delighted that Malcolm has joined the Fairstone Board. His arrival reinforces the continuing ambition of the Group to be amongst the major providers of retail financial advice. I have known Malcolm for many years and always found his strategic insight into the IFA industry to be particularly accurate and well-informed. As Fairstone continues to develop, I believe his contribution will be extremely valuable, and my colleagues and I look forward to working closely with him in the years to come.”

Lee Hartley, chief executive of Fairstone, said: “Following on from last year’s £25 million investment from Synova, Fairstone has continued to grow and widen out our proposition. Malcolm’s very considerable experience in working closely with leading financial services organisations over many years will be of great benefit to the future direction of Fairstone. I am delighted to welcome him to our board.”