The mutual said Fearon would be taking a few months away from work to “prioritise time with family and to focus on the imminent arrival of his baby”.
Barnes’ appointment is subject to regulatory approval.
She has been on the board since 2019 and has extensive experience in the banking sector, including nearly 17 years at the Bank of America in various roles across technology, fraud and loss prevention. She was also at Lloyds Banking Group for nearly five years, joining as its director of retail, mortgage and private banking operations, before progressing to managing director of customer operations.
Barnes was also managing director at the Bank of Scotland for a year-and-a-half, and CEO of Lloyds Bank Private Banking for just over a year.
As well as Leeds Building Society, Barnes has been on the boards of Quilter, GlobalData and Tradu.
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Barnes said: “I and all of the board members give Richard our full support. I’m very pleased to help the society by taking on his CEO role on an interim basis.
“I look forward to working more closely with colleagues across the business in the coming months as we continue to deliver on our purpose and strategy.”
Fearon has been at Leeds Building Society for almost a decade, joining as chief commercial officer in 2016 before becoming deputy CEO in 2018, then CEO the following year.
He has also worked at Halifax and Lloyds Banking Group, for over 10 years collectively, in roles covering its mortgage and savings divisions.
Additionally, Fearon has been chair of the UK Finance mortgage product board for five-and-a-half years.
Fearon has driven the mutual’s strategy to get more people onto the housing ladder, including its decision to stop holiday let lending in certain tourist hotspots and withdraw lending on second homes.
In its most recent results for the year ending 2024, Leeds Building Society completed £5.7bn in gross mortgage lending, a 12% rise on the year before. The mutual attributed much of this to the first-time buyer market, which made up 47% of new lending last year.
Fearon said: “I’m taking a temporary break so I can prioritise family time and making the most of a new baby due in October.
“I am fully committed to Leeds Building Society and I’m very grateful to Brendan and the board for their support.
“Annette is a highly capable leader who cares deeply about the society, its members, and its colleagues. I’m confident that she will do an exceptional job.”
Brendan McCafferty, chair of Leeds Building Society, added: “I and the board are fully supportive of Richard and look forward to his return. Annette has a huge amount of experience and leadership capability well suited to this temporary role.
“We have a brilliant leadership team at the society and they will continue to deliver for our members while Richard is out of the business.”
