It’s been a fairly smooth transition. DPR decided to take a company-wide move to remote working ahead of the lockdown, which allowed us time to iron out any technical challenges and ensure that we were set up to best support our clients. The team has been great in coming together and working alongside our clients to solve the challenges clients are currently facing in the mortgage market.

What processes has DPR introduced to assist with remote working?

We’ve been using tools such as Teams, Zoom and Trello for quite a while now, as we have a number of home-workers and also teams off-shore, so there hasn’t been much of a change in our usual operating model. The main switch has been supporting our staff’s wellbeing and mental health while in lockdown. Our brilliant ‘People’ team has been driving lots of initiatives in this area, from arranging wellbeing sessions to setting up cooking and bakery challenges.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career?

I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so one of the biggest challenges I have personally faced is trusting others to do things. For too many years, where something needed to be done, I wouldn’t trust others to do it – so would take it on myself. Now, I have a great team of capable people working with me whom I trust to do the right thing, which allows me to do more. I just wish I had done it years ago.

If there was one thing you could change about the industry, what would it be?

I would like processes to be quicker and easier to navigate. There are so many ways now where the process can be improved, such as using AVM and desktop valuations instead of physical/full valuations, Open Banking rather than payslips or Electronic ID rather than copies of passports. We are working to enable quicker offers and remove the pain-points in the mortgage journey, and the next challenge is to improve the transparency of the conveyancing processes and make these faster.

What is the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make?

Leaving Central Trust in 2010; my eldest daughter had just turned two, and we were expecting another baby in the New Year, so leaving was a bit of a risk with a growing family. However, I have never looked back. I’m now in my 10th year at DPR and I still enjoy working with our clients and having a great bunch of people to work with and have fun with.

As a child, what was your dream job?

As a younger man, I enjoyed playing rugby and music, so half of the time I wanted to be a professional rugby player and the other half a professional trombonist. In the end, I was too small to be a professional rugby player and not quite good enough to play music professionally, so I studied law and music at university, and somehow stumbled into financial services. I have enjoyed it from the off – and I’m not sure where else I would have rather ended up!

What advice would you give your teenage self?

Don’t be afraid to try! It’s something that I really encourage my children to do, as I think you can be scared to try something new just in case you fail. Likewise, I encourage my team to try new things and push the boundaries when it comes to our products.

Do you have any secret talents?

Other than playing musical instruments, I also found that I had a hidden super-power while at university: I can stick coins to my forehead. The main benefit from this talent was that whatever I stuck to my head I got to keep. This was quite a nice little earner when money was tight in the final months of university.

Who is your all-time hero, and why?

I have quite a few heroes, actually: former England rugby team captain Martin Johnson, for his leadership; former cricketer Mike Brearley, for his understanding of his team members’ personal motivations; and finally, my dad – a hard worker who, along with my mum, always made sacrifices for my sister, my brother and me.

Company profile

Year established: 1996

Headcount: 250

Address: 6th Floor, Commodity Quay, St Katharine Docks, London E1W 1AZ

Website: www.dpr.co.uk

DPR software and services empower financial institutions to manage the origination and servicing of mortgages, loans and savings products.