You took on the role of managing director at Paragon from John Heron in January 2020. What did you learn from your predecessor? 

John ran the business successfully for so long, so it was brilliant to have such a rich vein of knowledge and experience to call on. The history and culture of Paragon were a big draw for me and, 18 months in, I am delighted with the move and excited about the future.

What were you expecting from 2020 before the pandemic impacted us all? 

I expected to build on some of our strengths while exploring ways to improve, with a strong focus on the customer journey. We did this, but not in the way I planned!

Some of my plans actually gathered pace, importance and belief as a result of the pandemic. We have a very good business and my vision is to make it outstanding. We have started this work and have much more to come.

How did Paragon overcome the challenges of the past 12 months? 

I think Paragon responded brilliantly and 70% of brokers agree, saying we dealt with the pandemic better than our competition. Within a week of lockdown, 90% of staff were working effectively at home with the business fully operational.

The safety of our staff was a priority and we identified many opportunities to improve wellbeing and engagement. Despite the obvious challenges, our staff felt supported and able to deliver strong levels of productivity.

Were there any positives that came from the challenges of last year? 

A crisis focuses the mind, and the need to act urgently enabled things to happen safely but rapidly. In addition, we have spent more time speaking with our customers and helping them through difficult times.

Do you foresee the market dipping after the stamp duty holiday ends? 

Lockdown has created a once-in-a-generation review of what people want from a home. This will have an impact way beyond the stamp duty holiday. Demand is outstripping supply, and this fuels price increases but will also likely act to cool transactions over the summer.

Those fortunate enough to retain their income have had less to spend their money on. In addition to paying debts and saving, a large percentage of this will go into moving and improving homes.

Even when restrictions are fully lifted, I think fewer people will travel abroad, adding longevity to the staycation boom and providing opportunity for investors.

Paragon recently withdrew its second charge offering. Do you see this as permanent? 

Yes. It is a tricky product for a bank to offer. Our seconds business represents a very small proportion of our assets and is sub-scale. But we will continue to look after all our seconds customers.

If you hadn’t chosen your current career path, what other jobs would you have considered? 

Something related to the natural world. I am fascinated by all living things. My passion is scuba diving, so something that combined that with studying and protecting nature would be very appealing.

Do you have any secret talents? 

I am a huge 1980s hip-hop fan and I have been a bit of an MC in the past.

Who is your all-time hero, and why? 

I don’t have an all-time hero. I respect lots of people for their talent or vision and optimistic outlook on life.

What is the best advice you have received? 

I have had the pleasure of working for some amazing bosses and something they all had in common was the ability to bring out the best in people.

Earlier in my career I was given great advice from someone still very active in our industry. He said I needed to reinvent myself. I was 14 years in to a career with Halifax and realised the only way I could do that was to try something new. If I hadn’t made that move, I wouldn’t be here today; it put rocket boosters under my restless curiosity and fuelled a thirst for learning and self-awareness ever since.