Lantern appoints new CEO

Debt purchase and credit management company, Lantern has announced that it is making changes to its senior leadership team. Effective 1st November 2023, Denise Crossley will move into a new role of Non-Executive Chairwoman of the Group with Paul Mason taking on the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Crossley has lead the over the past nine year and has been instrumental in establishing Lantern’s brand reputation, acquiring and integrating vulnerable customer management company, Sonex Financial.

Mason brings significant expertise from a career spent growing consumer-focused financial services companies, including at BPO Holdings, the Student Loans Company (SLC), Saga Insurance, Creditfix, and latterly as CEO of Solvere Services, a Toronto, Canada based consumer debt business. During his career, Mason has founded a credit management business, held an executive role in a public limited company and, while at SLC, managed the £120bn student loan book, collecting c£2.6bn in annual repayments and managed a £500m portfolio of direct collections via an international panel. He brings particular prowess in consumer credit and scaling businesses, making him a key asset to further accelerate Lantern’s future growth trajectory.

He will work in close collaboration with Crossley, CFO Andrew Kirk, and Stefan Russell, Managing Director of Sonex Financial, to ensure Lantern Group will deliver on its ambitious growth plans to be the UK’s leader in credit management, retaining its particular focus on supporting customers in vulnerable situations.

Denise Crossley, incoming Non-Executive Chairwoman at Lantern Group and outgoing CEO, said “It’s been a fantastic nine years growing the business into the award-winning, diverse and fabulous team it is today. We have ambitious growth targets and the Board and I believe now is the right time to bring in the additional skills needed for our team to scale the business as it enters the next chapter of growth. I want to say a big thank you to our clients, partners and, above all, our employees for all their hard work and I look forward to continuing to help with Lantern’s story in the future.”

Paul Mason, incoming CEO, said “Lantern’s reputation in the industry is second to none and I look forward to working closely with Denise and the fantastic team she has built to help grow our market-leading offer. I’ve seen from afar how this company helps people, day after day, in often challenging circumstances. It’s an honour to succeed Denise and I look forward to being able to call on her advice and guidance in her new role.”

Justin Bull, Copper Street Capital and lead investor in Lantern, said “Lantern has grown into a strongly performing business, underpinned by a quality team and a clear growth strategy. Today’s announcement will accelerate the next stage of Lantern’s success. The combination of Denise’s institutional knowledge, with Andrew Kirk’s exceptional financial management and Paul’s skillset and knowledge of scaling businesses at pace, delivers an exceptional C-Suite.”