What three words describe you best?
Honest. Kind. Approachable.
Tell us about your career to date
I worked for 22 years in a private bank here in Guernsey before joining Tenn in December last year. I started my career with the bank as a Personal Assistant before I quickly moved to the credit department where I was promoted through the years to eventually holding the Head of Credit role for the last 3 years. This enabled me to see all processes in the credit function which allowed me to gain the skillset of leadership and knowledge to guide a team of five with holding down a £1.1bn loan book.
How did you came to work at Tenn?
Unfortunately, the bank took the decision to close the Guernsey office, and so I was on the lookout for another role at the same time as Tenn was looking for a Senior Credit Manager. Actually, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise and a wonderful opportunity which is continually allowing me to broaden and enhance my skillset where previous boundaries were limited within a private banking environment. It was a challenge in itself to move employer after 22 years but working for Tenn has made that incredibly easy by having a friendly, professional working environment and warm and welcoming approach.
Everything I learned at the bank has set me up for working with Tenn. It’s great to be in a place where I can take all my past practical experience and think differently in terms of how we create lending solutions and how we can look at a borrower or a loan.
What do you see next in the lending industry?
I think there’s huge potential for the lending market. No one could imagine the unexpected growth in property values and transactions during the peak of the pandemic, and the lending industry has shown a high demand for different types of lending to suit individual needs. While property transactions may slow down as we go forward, I believe there’s still huge demand which will continue. In particular, short-term lending which can offer speed in property transactions that is not always available – borrowers should be aware of different options available to them and how they can use the products that are out there.
What are you motivated by?
I’m excited to see the company succeed and to be a part of the growth and success of the business. I thrive from being a part of the journey and having the opportunity to shape things within the team. My previous career within the private bank allowed me to gain my knowledge and experience and look at what we can implement or improve here at Tenn. It’s great to be a part of this kind of growth with a focused team driving the business forward.
What does success look like to you?
As a lender, I think it’s important to have an excellent reputation, and it’s something we’re serious about achieving as a business. We have a can-do approach and a very personal touch. At so many firms, borrowers don’t receive this personal experience and may find it difficult to speak to someone at all, this can lead to a frustrated client which can be detrimental to a business. Here at Tenn, we are always here to speak to the clients or professional organisations to resolve any queries within a timely manner. It’s about giving the client the professional experience they deserve from a lending company.
We’re very hands-on, and as a small team it enables us to give the professional personal touch each client deserves in the lending market. Everything we do is completely tailored and we work very hard to achieve our goals as well as our clients.
Tell us about a hobby or passion
I’m definitely an outdoors person and love to be active, whether that be paddleboarding in the summer, spending time with our three horses or walking our dogs.
What do you do in your spare time?
We have five children at home, so that takes up a lot of my spare time, as you can imagine! I spend a lot of time with my family, and we’re outside whenever we can. As a family, we’re pretty active. My son is into motorsports, so we support that, and the girls love horses as much as I do, so we do a lot of equine eventing, which keeps us all busy.
We’re so lucky to live here. We’re out and about a lot in the summer especially – Guernsey is such a great place to be.
What do you wish more people knew about Tenn?
I wish people knew what personal service we deliver and how much we care about that. Attention to detail is a big key area for us, and we care about delivering what we do from the start of the deal right through to repayment. Practically that means we’re always available on the end of the phone, and we’ll do whatever we can to help. But I also think it’s about more than that. We want to see our clients achieve whatever they set out to do, and we give every loan our all. You can’t engineer employee’s desire to go the extra mile, but it comes naturally to us as a team. As we grow, I think it’s something we will become known for.
What values do you live by?
I’m kind and approachable, and I treat everyone with the same level of respect. It’s important to me that anyone I work with receives the same level of care and attention. I always aim to deliver the same experience to everyone. I don’t believe in treating people differently for any reason, so I approach everyone the same way and with the same professionalism.