Saints have added new chief financial officer David Bence to their executive board, while director Hans Hofstetter has departed the club.

As part of his role, Bence will be responsible for the club’s finance, IT, human resources and legal teams, while he will also be involved in growing the commercial side of the club.

He joins Les Reed and chief executive Gareth Rogers on the executive board.

Bence, who was appointed by the club earlier this year, has held senior positions at a number of leading brands, including Longleat Enterprises Limited, Merlin Entertainments PLC and Sodexo Sports and Leisure.

The club also confirmed that business lawyer Hofstetter has resigned from the board of the parent company, St Mary’s Football Group Limited.

A statement from Saints said: “Hans joined the board of the football club’s holding company during a transitional period in January 2014 to help stabilise the club and lend his experience in corporate governance.

“As expected, the club has gone on to progress significantly over the past seven months, and the executive board together with David will continue to build on this growth.”