July 2018

Jon Nott has been appointed to be chair of the ICOF Group and ICOF Community Capital. Jon takes over from Jo White who stepped down at the AGMs held on 26 June after seven years as chair.

Jon was elected to the board in 2017 which makes him a relative newcomer but he has a long history of co-operation that started in the early 1990s at Alleycat Books Co-op in Durham. Jon is currently General Secretary of Woodcraft Folk, the children and young people’s co-operative. Prior to this, Jon was Chief Executive of the Green Party in the run up to the election of their first MP in 2010. With a background in worker co-ops and membership-led campaigning organisations, Jon is an expert in democratic governance and engagement.

Jon said: “I’m honoured to have been selected as the new chair of Co-op and Community Finance – it’s a great privilege to be able to support so many co-ops and community-owned businesses as they develop and grow. I’m grateful to Jo White for her seven years’ service as our chair, after which CCF is in a strong position as we start our 10-year plan to simplify the structure of the business and raise new capital to enable us to offer even more support to our sector. I look forward to working with my fellow board members, our staff team and, most importantly, our members and borrowers as CCF plays our part in growing the co-operative economy.”