Having spent the best part of her childhood learning how to be a professional dancer in Scotland, it seemed unlikely that Alison Hutchinson, the new managing director of Kensington Mortgages, would have gone on to pursue a successful career in financial services. But that is exactly what she did – and has never regretted the decision for a second.
Juggling a technology and business degree at Strathclyde University and dancing and drama at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Hutchinson felt compelled to make a decision about the direction of her career. She reminisces: “I was a semi-professional dancer after becoming national champion in a number of different disciplines, and while I was dancing competitively I also ran my own dance school, which is a far cry from where I have now ended up.
“As a child, I was fortunate to have the best of both worlds, as I had a fair amount of family business involvement, which gave me a solid grounding in the way businesses operate. I grew up in the West of Scotland, where performing arts was not considered real work, so my decision to move into the financial services sector was fairly easy.”
Hutchinson attributes most of her success to her long employment with the IBM Corporation, where she worked her way to the top, from a graduate systems engineer to the global director of financial solutions.
She says: “I established a new global division within the IBM financial services sector responsible for defining, creating and marketing a range of e-commerce solutions to financial institutions.”
It was during this time that IBM outperformed its revenue target by 30% within the first full year of operations, delivering more than $900m (£460m) of income from global operations.
It was perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that after 14 years and a number of different roles within the company, her next move took her into the world of corporate banking when she was headhunted by Barclays Business to Business. As chief executive of this division she had the task of transforming the business and delivering tangible financial returns through the use of sourcing and procurement solutions.
Not satisfied with that, Hutchinson then became the marketing and communications director of Barclaycard in 2002 with responsibility to develop customer and brand strategies as well as product and portfolio management. “I was recruited to transform the marketing and communications team in Barclaycard, drive a stronger client agenda to deliver the business plan, gain optimal balance between brand and information-based client management and align with group marketing to improve synergies,” she says.
However, after four years at Barclays, Hutchinson was on the move again – this time taking on the role of managing director of Kensington Mortgages in October. Founded in 1994, Kensington has lent more than £7.4bn to more than 82,000 borrowers with varying levels of adverse credit.
Hutchinson says: “Kensington is a fresh challenge – it is everything I expected and more. It is a successful company based on solid foundations, but has an appetite to grow and expand into other areas that build on those foundations. I will sharpen its focus and allow the entrepreneurial spirit to fly, so we can start to deliver rather than talk about it.”
From the outset, Hutchinson has drawn on her past experiences to develop plans to drive the Kensington brand forward and has already put in place strategies to revamp its public image and diversify into other areas of the mortgage market within two years.
Hutchinson says: “I have worked in both the business-to-consumer, and business-to-business areas. I have a firm grasp of technology and financial services, and have experience in running a number of family businesses, including tax agencies, bed and breakfasts, training companies and dry cleaners – so whatever it is I can walk it and talk it.”
Hutchinson believes this is what makes her unique to other city executives, saying: “I take this small business mentality into large companies, which is why I feel I have found my home at Kensington. It is a very successful company that continues to have an aggressive view of growth for the future, but still keep its small business attitude of ‘can do, will do and how to do’.”
Hutchinson stresses that the specialist mortgage market will continue to remain Kensington’s focus, although it plans to capitalise on other areas. She says: “Next year Kensington will deliver the investment it has in place, which will see a re-energised Kensington come to the fore, and from 2006 will see us operating in different areas. The plan is not to lose what has made us who we are with regards to transparency, clarity, the consistency of delivery and the prudence in which we manage our overall funding, yet drive that more aggressively by accelerating the things that we do and how we do it.”
The three key areas Kensington will focus on in coming months are the acceleration of technology and e-commerce, a greater product range and increases in service standards.
Hutcinson says: “I want to combine these three elements to deliver outcomes at a much higher rate of progress. For me, it is about focusing on the right building blocks, which will see a new electronic commerce suite introduced in the new year and a number of new products that will refresh the market in the first quarter to be later expanded by the end of year.”
Hutchinson says Kensington may also look into other growth areas, such as equity release, products that support a person buying a home or remortgaging to consolidate debt, and complementary insurance services and capabilities that provide easier access for brokers and consumers.
She adds: “Specialist mortgage lending will remain at the heart of what we do, but this is a way that we can refresh our proposition in the market by meeting client demand in those complementary areas. It is all about making a difference to the bottom line and dealing with people that want to be part of that bigger vision.”
Hutchinson goes on to say that regulation has been a positive step for the market, but adds that the new rules should not be a burden for lenders or brokers. “For consumers, the process is all about them needing to buy a house or remortgage, so it is important that organisations do not drown consumers in regulation issues – instead they should use it to provide more choice and transparency. Regulation is a way of life and it is about doing business well and properly.”
It is business as usual for Kensington, which made the transition into the new regulated environment smoothly says Hutchinson. “We did not over-commit ourselves – we did the basics and we did them well. It was just the way we had planned. A number of companies have woken up too late and not realised what it means and as a consequence have suffered considerably. We have had plenty of time to prepare for regulation, so there are really no excuses. Everybody involved needs to take the responsibility on their shoulders and overcome the initial teething problems.”
Speculating on the future, Hutchinson believes 2005 will prove to be a make-or-break situation for businesses across the market. She says it is inevitable that a number of networks and packagers will begin to consolidate, as smaller firms struggle to obtain distribution. Hutchinson says: “Companies which can add a differential in a value-added service will survive. There is no room in the market for companies which have become just an element in the chain and only add cost and not value.”
Hutchinson also expects many brokers to leave the industry, with some moving into unregulated second-charge business. “I have been fortunate to be given opportunities where I have made a difference and I intend to make the most of them,” she concludes.
As Hutchinson becomes comfortable in her new role at Kensington and brings together her broad experience of the financial services sector, brokers can expect to see a revamped innovative lender come to the fore.
