Paul Pester - Cardeo

Paul Pester, portfolio non-executive Chair and Director

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Our guest is Paul Pester, a portfolio non-executive Chair and Director.

Paul was the founding Group Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Money, where he established the business as an early digital disruptor in UK financial services and went on to launch the iconic Virgin brand in retail financial services in Australia and South Africa.  He was Managing Director at Santander UK, leading the acquisition of Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester, and was the CEO of TSB Banking Group for seven years.  During this time, he led the creation and successful launch of the bank in 2013, its £1.4bn IPO on the London Stock Exchange in 2014 and built the business to become the UK’s largest challenger bank.  TSB was the subject of a £1.7bn acquisition by the Spanish bank Sabadell in mid-2015.

Currently, he Chairs Fairer Finance’s Consumer Advisory Board, is a non-executive Director at the consumer lending business Oplo, a Board advisor at credit card business Jaja Finance and an advisor to the fintech start-up Cardeo. 

A former advisor to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on banking competition, Paul spent his early career in management consulting, the majority of which was at McKinsey & Co.

Paul Pester

Tara Waite - Premium Credit

Tara Waite, Group Chief Executive - Premium Credit

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Our guest is Tara Waite, Group Chief Executive Officer of Premium Credit, a consumer and business lending business that operates in the UK and Ireland. She shares with us the process they used to involve and embolden all their colleagues in defining their purpose, how their private equity owners relate to their purpose, the importance of letting go as a senior executive to get real employee engagement, and how they use their purpose in making investment decisions – particularly the ones that require a leap of faith.

Tara (nee Kneafsey) has over 20 years’ experience in financial services in both UK and International roles, beginning her career as a management consultant at Andersen, and subsequently at Ernst and Young. Prior to her current role, she was Group Chief Executive Officer of Wonga Group, a consumer lending business operating in Europe and South Africa.

Tara has also held leadership roles at RSA Insurance Group, including Managing Director of the UK’s SME and Delegated Authority business, and CEO of RSA’s market leading business in Latvia. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Physics from Trinity College Dublin and a Master’s degree in Applied Physics. She is also a visiting Fellow at Oxford University’s SAID Business School.

Tara Waite

Stephen Haddrill - Finance and Leasing Association

Stephen Haddrill, Director General - Finance & Leasing Association

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Our guest is Stephen Haddrill, Director General of the Finance & Leasing Association.

The Finance & Leasing Association is the leading trade body for the asset, consumer and motor finance sectors in the UK. Their members include banks, subsidiaries of banks and building societies, the finance arms of leading retailers and manufacturing companies, and a range of independent firms.

Stephen was appointed Director General of the FLA in October 2019 and took up his role in early December 2019. Prior to this he was CEO of the Financial Reporting Council 2009-2019, was Director General of the ABI 2005-2009, and Chairman of the Institute of Employment Studies 2007-2011. He also held various senior positions at the Department of Trade and Industry including as Director General of Fair Markets, responsible for a wide range of regulatory functions, covering consumer, competition, company law and employment policy.

Stephen Haddrill

David Marlow - Nottingham Building Society

David Marlow, Chief Executive - Nottingham Building Society

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Our guest is David Marlow, Chief Executive of the Nottingham Building Society; a role he has held since 2011.

The Nottingham is a top 10 building society with assets of over £4bn.  Since the financial crisis the Society has developed significantly; increasing its assets by almost 50% and growing its franchise from 31 branches in four counties to about 50 in 9 counties across England.

The Society is growing its membership through developing its unique all under one roof advice and service proposition providing a combination of savings, whole of market mortgage advice, whole of market financial planning advice, protection and estate planning services from its branches.

The Society is working with Salesforce and its partners to develop a fully digital version of this unique proposition, seeking to help younger members to save, plan and protect for their futures through the provision of this unique offering. In doing so they expect to contribute to the transformation of the savings market for the benefit of members.  The Society has a strong community ethos through its “Doing Good Together” initiative, which over the past seven years has raised, donated or funded over £1million for local causes – focussing especially on homelessness, employability and financial awareness.

David has over 30 years financial services experience in both the mutual and plc sectors having held a number of senior roles at Alliance & Leicester, including MD of A & L Direct, Director of Contract Centres and Director of Current Accounts and Savings.  He represents Building Societies on the FCA’s Small Business Practitioners Panel and has previously held the role of Deputy Chairman of the Building Societies Association.

He is married with 3 children and lives in the East Midlands: he enjoys most sports, but now watches more than participates, particularly Leicester City where he has been a season ticket holder for many years.

David Marlow

Mark Walley - STEP

Mark Walley, Chief Executive - STEP

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Our guest is Mark Walley, Chief Executive, STEP.

Mark will share with us the moment that crystallised for him and his Board that they needed to rewrite their vision and mission, some of the tools they have used to prioritise and focus their limited resources to make the biggest strategic impact, and what he sees as the opportunities and challenges for STEP as they enter China as a market.

STEP is the global professional association for those advising families across generations. Their mission is to inspire confidence in families planning their assets across generations by setting and upholding high professional standards, informing public policy, promoting education, and connecting practitioners globally to share knowledge and best practice.

As Chief Executive at STEP Mark is responsible for the organisation’s, strategy, culture, performance and governance, working closely with the board. Mark’s deep seated belief in the value of professional education, the standards and ethics that sit with them, plus acting in the public interest has guided his career choices. He is dedicated to building working environments where everyone can be their best and is an advocate for social mobility and inclusion in the workplace.

Motivated by later in life academic success Mark was a volunteer director of ‘Professions for Good’. Representing 1.2 million practitioners, P4G worked to uphold fair access, professional ethics & fact based policy amongst the UK professions.

He now maintains a role as mentor to a diverse group of young professionals, is a champion of diversity and inclusion and volunteers with ‘Inspiring the Future’. 

He holds a BSc (Hons) in Banking and Finance and is a Chartered Director.

Mark Walley

Robin Mortimer - Port of London Authority

The Purposeful Strategist - Robin Mortimer (CEO Port Of London Authority)

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Our guest is Robin Mortimer, Chief Executive of the Port of London Authority. He’ll share with us thoughts about refreshing their enduring organisational purpose to address emerging issues, the impact on CEO time of taking purpose seriously, and the implications of zero carbon for the largest port in the UK.

Robin joined the Port of London Authority (PLA) as Chief Executive on 31 March 2014.  The PLA is responsible for promoting the safe and sustainable use of the tidal River Thames – 95 miles from Teddington to the North Sea.  Home to the UK’s second biggest port and the busiest and most diverse inland waterway, the Thames contributes over £6 billion annually to the UK economy and is enjoyed by residents and visitors alike.

 Prior to joining the PLA, Robin had 20 years experience in the UK civil service working on transport, environment, infrastructure and overseas development. He was Private Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister following the 1997 General Election and later to the Secretary of State for Transport.  He was the lead author of the UK Climate Change Act, which became law in 2007 and as a Director in Defra led the Government’s Adapting to Climate Change programme, oversaw the creation of the Canal & River Trust and directed policy on farming and the environment.

 Robin is a Member of the CBI’s London Council and, since 2012, a Trustee of the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, a Cambridge based charity.

Robin Mortimer

Nicola Shaw - National Grid

Nicola Shaw, Executive Director UK - National Grid

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Our guest is Nicola Shaw, Executive Director UK of National Grid. Nicola will share with us how National Grid came up with a simple clear purpose and how they've embedded it in the organization.

Nicola is positioned firmly at the heart of meeting the energy challenges of the future. She joined National Grid in July 2016 after holding the CEO role at HS1 for five years.

She is highly regarded in the UK transport industry and in July 2015 was asked to report to the UK Government on the future structure and financing of Network Rail. The subsequently named Shaw report was published in March 2016.

Nicola holds a BA in Modern History and Economics from Oxford University and an MSc in Transport from MIT. She was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List 2015.

Nicola Shaw

Darren James - Keltbray Group

Darren James, Chief Executive Officer - Keltbray Group

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Our guest is Darren James, Chief Executive Officer of Keltbray Group. He shares with us how he's gone about developing a purpose and strategy for Keltbray - as well as some tips for getting great staff engagement through the process, especially from junior staff.

Darren was appointed Chief Executive of the Keltbray Group in April 2020. Prior to this he was an Executive Director of Costain Group PLC from 2007 as Managing Director of the £1.2bn Infrastructure Division for over 10 years and latterly as the Chief Operating Officer for the Costain Group. In addition to overall P+L responsibility for the Groups operations he held specific responsibility at the Executive Board for Safety, Health and Environment and Chaired the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Board.

An honours graduate in Civil Engineering from the University of Surrey, Darren has undertaken further postgraduate executive educations programmes at Harvard (Leadership), Wharton (Strategy) and London (Finance) Business Schools.

A Chartered Civil Engineer, Darren is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, the Institution of Civil Engineers and Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation.

Darren is a Non-Executive Director of the Port of London Authority a Director of the Rail Industry Association, a member of the Rail Supply Group Council as industry champion on one of the Rail Sector Deal Pillars and a member of the Princes Trust Built Environment Leadership Group.

Darren James