Craddock (pictured) will leave Bucks BS at the end of November and subject to regulatory approval will take over at Darlington BS in December.
He will succeed Colin Fyfe who announced his departure in March this year having been chief executive since 2014.
Craddock spent four years as Buckinghamshire Building Society’s chief executive, prior to that he spent time with both Allied Irish Bank and Barclays Bank in a 30-year career in financial services.
Darlington Building Society chairman Jack Cullen said: “We are extremely pleased to have appointed someone with this level of experience and calibre who shares the values of the society.
“We firmly believe that in Andrew we have someone who can lead the society to the next stage of our clearly-defined strategy.”
Craddock added: “I am looking forward to joining a thriving regional building society that has strong ambitions for the future.”
O’Keefe joining Bucks BS
Also subject to regulatory approval, Gerard O’Keeffe will become the new CEO of Buckinghamshire BS, joining from Royal Bank of Scotland where he has been head of complaints assessment and decision making as part of its GRG Remediation Project since February.
He too has more than 30-years’ experience in the sector, including as CEO of Allied Irish Bank in the UK.
Buckinghamshire Building Society chairman Robin Bailey said the mutual was delighted to have O’Keeffe joining.
“Gerard is joining us at an exciting time for the society,” he said.
“We believe he will bring a new perspective to our business, and with his wealth of experience he and the team will take the society to the next phase of its growth.”
Bailey also thanked Craddock for his time at the lender.
“Andrew has been a remarkable leader, developing the Bucks into a modern, successful and financially secure business and at the same time keeping our mutual ethos of putting our members at the forefront of what we do,” he said.
“We are extremely grateful for his efforts and the board and I wish Andrew all the best in his new role at the Darlington,” he added.
