Her first jobStephanie’s career in financial services began in Essex, where she took her first job in the sector working as an insurance underwriter for Prudential at its Southend office. Although determined to build a career in finance, she had no initial plans to become a trainer, but her future was about to be shaped by major national economic events.
Her career-defining roleIn the early 1980s, Stephanie transferred to Prudential’s London office. During her time there, two significant UK Government decisions propelled her towards a career in training. First was the ‘Big Bang’ in 1986. “That was the genesis of compliance as we understand it today,” she reflects. Second was the introduction of the Personal Equity Plan three years later, which led to Prudential creating a separate entity for PEPs.
“We were getting errors creeping in because there were very few people there who understood the cradle-to-grave process,” she recalls. “I was in a meeting one day and said, ‘What we need to do is train colleagues’. The response was: ‘Great idea! Why don’t you do it?’ So I did.”
Stephanie later helped write the Investment Management Regulatory Organisation’s Training and Competence (T&C) rules. And when Prudential acquired M&G in 1999, she took over T&C for the entire firm.
Her break from financial servicesStephanie was building an impressive CV as a T&C manager, but her career took a dramatic turn in 2004, when her husband was made redundant and she moved to Spain to run a restaurant.
Not everything, however, went to plan: “I taught myself Spanish, but I taught myself Castilian and found when I got there they spoke Valencian! Fortunately it’s a bit more like French, so I was able to find my way through.”
Her passion for coachingSurviving the experience meant the City held no fears for Stephanie when she returned two years later as a trainer for Cofunds. She then worked at Smith & Williamson and Barclays before joining Vestra Wealth in June this year.
For much of her career, she has coached people through their professional exams. “When someone’s failed something four times and you work with them and they pass, that’s really satisfying,” she says.
Her missionHelping others is something Stephanie enjoys. She emphasises: “My role is to help people be as good as they can be. I don’t think it’s about ticking boxes.
“I try really hard never to say the phrases ‘regulator’, ‘FCA [Financial Conduct Authority]’ and ‘training and competence’. I only ever talk about commerciality. Before I retire, it’s my mission to eradicate the term ‘training and competence’.”
She delivered this message when she chaired the CISI Training & Competence Conference 2015.
Her life outside workAway from the office, Stephanie enjoys everything from dancing and travelling to cooking.
“The schools have not done a good job of teaching people to cook,” she says. “When I retire, I’d like to go to people’s houses and help them learn, which will allow me to continue to deploy my coaching skills.”
If you would like to tell us your own back story, email
gareth.francis@wardour.co.uk
The original version of this article was published in the December 2015 print edition of the S&IR.