FINANCE MONTHLY CEO AWARDS 2014 Winner...

GRAHAM DONALD United Kingdom

CEO of Pancredit ABOUT PANCREDIT

Pancredit, part of the Equiniti Group, is a leading provider of loan application, administration and collection systems, intelligent credit sourcing solutions and business intelligence tools for banks, lenders, intermediaries and price comparison sites. Its solutions help organisations champion responsible lending, raise organisational efficiency, cut costs and enhance the service experience of end-users.

Pancredit enables extensive automation of business processes and is capable of supporting clients with millions of accounts The sophisticated decisioning capabilities provided in Pancredit’s solutions assist lenders in achieving the optimum balance between credit risk management and maximisation of new business opportunities.

GRAHAM DONALD

Managing Director Graham Donald joined Pancredit in March 2013. Graham has more than 25 years’ experience in banking and financial services. His previous roles include Commercial Manager at HML, COO at Communications Direct and Regional Director at Lloyds TSB Black Horse. Graham also ran his own consultancy providing bespoke courses on behalf of training providers. Clients included BUPA, First Group and Alcetel Lucent.

CEO INSIGHT Q

What are your most important professional

achievements at your current company?

The most important achievement involves the whole team at Pancredit - promoting the brand and ensuring that the company’s longstanding reputation in the industry is upheld through product excellence, customer service and development. Achieving this has required the engagement of staff at all levels within the company.

Q

What lessons did you learn on your way to

becoming a CEO?

I strongly believe that every person within a business has an important role in contributing to its success. Treating people with respect regardless of their professional seniority is key. The ability to communicate with an entire team, from the CEO to the customer services agent, is an important factor in retaining the quality people needed to drive the business forward.

Q

What education or prior experience helped you

succeed at your current company?

My background in financial services has given me a sound knowledge

Q

How do you overcome challenges?

There needs to be a real awareness of what is going on in the wider market. It is easy for a business to fall into the trap of focusing too much on its own internal issues; there is a constant need to keep up to date with new legislation, product announcements and developments in the industry that impact our clients. The key is to balance resources between revenue generation, awareness of the market and our competitive positioning.

Q

How do you balance and manage various

stakeholders’ interests? I assess who the most influential

Graham Donald, CEO of Pancredit Telephone: (0) 113 2500 260 I Email: solutions@pancredit.com I Website: www.pancredit.com FINANCEMONTHLY 51

of Pancredit’s market. I previously worked for one of the firm’s customers and have had prior experience of Pancredit’s solutions, which been invaluable in helping me to see the offering through our customers’ eyes.

My experience as an executive business coach has had a great influence on my management style. Working to help individuals align their personal attributes with the growth, performance and service ambitions of the business helps us to get the best out of our employees and, at the same time, ensure that our clients’ needs are met too.

stakeholders are and manage them according to who will have the greatest impact on the company’s prospects. That said, it is important to dedicate time to communicating and understanding all stakeholders’ interests and reassessing engagement accordingly. It’s a continuous process.

Q

How do you see the future of your industry?

The future for the UK consumer credit market looks positive. The economy is now recovering; this is certainly evident in Pancredit’s core sectors of personal loans and motor finance. I believe that demonstrating a commitment to ‘responsible lending’ is the key to ensuring a stable future. Pancredit’s solutions are designed to help lenders match customers with loan products that are suited to their financial circumstances and provide loans which consumers can afford.

Q

What advice do you give to rising CEOs?

Be true to yourself and your own beliefs, understand the values that you personally hold and the values of the people you work with.

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