How did you get into banking?
After I left school, I trained as a psychiatric nurse, but it wasn’t for me. I took some time off, but I needed to earn some money and came across an ad in the local paper from an insurance company. I had no idea about finance, but when the interviewer asked me why I thought I’d be good at this job, I said that, with my nursing background, I was pretty good at talking to people and getting them onside. He must have seen something in me, and that was how I started. I then moved around, working for different insurers, mortgage companies and a bank to gain experience. By my early 30s, I had qualified as a chartered financial planner and opened my own business in Bury St Edmunds. Early in my career, I benefited greatly from the guidance of three mentors who not only put me through rigorous exams but also introduced me to excellent clients.
Do you specialise in any particular areas of financial planning?
Day to day, I’m very much a ‘GP-style’ private banker. As a private banker, when you’re talking to a client, you’re looking at their entire world. Money affects a client in every aspect of their life, whether they want to give some money away in their lifetime or are philanthropic because they’re very passionate about charities. If you focus only on one aspect of their finances, you won’t find out what they really want. So, one of my core skills is just chatting to people. Whenever I take on new clients I want to hear their story.
Why did you join Weatherbys?
There has always been something about Weatherbys that made me think I’d really enjoy working here. When you’re a competitor of Weatherbys, as I have been working for other firms, you’re acutely aware of how outstanding its service is. It has British heritage and traditional values, and it does banking really well. People value private banks, but Weatherbys takes it to the next level. Weatherbys absolutely understands the psychology of what customers need, whether it’s families, business owners or young entrepreneurs.
How would you describe the culture at Weatherbys?
It’s hard to articulate, but you can smell it, taste it and feel it. There’s a ‘Weatherbys Way’, a DNA that quickly gets into your blood. I’m already living and breathing it and I’ve only been here for a few weeks. When I first rocked up, I was like, wow, you really do answer the phone within three rings.
What does your current role involve?
First and foremost, to be a safe pair of hands for existing clients, but I’ll be working closely with the business development team to draw on my network, particularly in the Cambridge–London–Oxford triangle, where I have spent most of my career.
What do you like most about banking?
I absolutely love my job. No two days are the same and no two enquiries are the same. You are helping people with something that is quite difficult for them to understand. Even if they understand it, they need a sounding board or hand-holding. When I get involved in particular cases, it tends to be when people are at a crossroads triggered by a life event. They are coming to you because they don’t know what the problem is or how to solve it. And I just love talking to people. Clients are interesting people, many with fascinating stories, who appreciate that you are trying to help them by simply being a good custodian of their money.
What would you say makes a good banker?
I think it’s the ability to listen. People spend far too much time talking. Clients should do 80 per cent of the talking and bankers 80 per cent of the listening. It’s listening to understand, not to answer; there is a difference. Clients know their story and can tell it themselves.
How do you turn off and relax?
I’ve got two adorable dogs and I love walking them. Music is a big passion in my life – I have a huge vinyl collection and go to a lot of gigs. I also took up polo later in life and I am also a beekeeper. Bees are fascinating. I could talk about them all day!