Firing lineDec 13 2021

‘I think I’m the only black board member of a UK building society’

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‘I think I’m the only black board member of a UK building society’
Bobby Ndawula, group finance director of Skipton Building Society

“I think I’m the only black board member in the 43 building societies in the UK, so I think there’s some further work to do.

“If people can see – be it if it’s people from ethnic minorities and women, especially in the executive director role - the more people can see people like them, it really unearths talent. I think it has changed quite a lot but there’s still more to go.”

The society, which is one of more than 330 signatories to the Women in Finance Charter, also employs a diversity lead to focus on diversity and inclusion, which Ndawula says has driven the society forward on a number of fronts.

“If I think back to when I joined, none of those things were apparent. I think that’s not just from Skipton, but I think right across the industry.”

Ndawula has worked his way up to the board since joining from KPMG as a project manager in 2003.

One of the things that has kept him at Skipton for the past 18 years, he says, is the challenge.

“For me it’s ensuring that I always have that challenge, and feel like I’m making a difference. So right from when I started back in 2003 – my first project manager role in finance – I was responsible for moving us from the UK GAAP [Generally Accepted Accounting Practice] to IFRS [International Financial Reporting Standards].

“And I found that a really big challenge, because I had to manage upwards in terms of people who were much more senior than me in terms of their area of expertise, but probably didn’t know as much in terms of accounting standards. So influencing them was a really big challenge.

“Providing I feel like I’m making a difference, adding value, [being] challenged, I think that’s the thing that keeps me at Skipton at the moment. And I guess that’s the advice I’d give to anyone.

“Providing you feel like you’re making a real difference, your views are valued and you feel that you’re helping to build something special, I think as long as that continues, it’s good to stay around.”

One of the main changes that Ndawula has seen during his almost two decades at Skipton is the scaling down of the group.

“In the lead up to the financial crash back in 2007-08, the Skipton Group was much bigger than it was now. The breadth was much wider in terms of the companies that we had.”

In 2010, for example, the society sold Advance Mortgage Funding, now trading as Primis Mortgage Network, to LSL Property Services, and in 2014 its mortgage servicing subsidiary Homeloan Management to financial administrator Computershare.

“Through the financial crash, we realised it’s better actually to have more depth than breadth,” says Ndawula. “So we very much specialised in a number of more narrow areas such as estate agency, Skipton International, the mortgage and savings business. That’s helpful in terms of management stretch and ensuring that you can add more value and create more impact for those markets you’re operating in.”

While Skipton has prioritised depth over breadth in this regard, its efforts on diversity and inclusion have seen the society collect data on the diversity of its workforce.

“I think to diagnose whether a company or a business has got an issue around diversity and inclusion, the starting point should be to analyse the associated data. So the key is providing the environment where colleagues feel comfortable sharing that sort of D&I data with the business to help them drive change. Making sure they feel that it’s going to be used for positive purposes, rather than any negative purposes.

“And if one can get and analyse that data, you can identify where there’s some areas to work on. It should be data-led and if you can do that, then you can start using it to inform things like new policies, such as blind CVs, making sure that you really drive meritocracy.”

Ndawula mentions a report by BoardReady, a non-profit dedicated to increasing corporate diversity, which found a “compelling” correlation between diversity on boards of directors and the pandemic-era performance of the S&P 500 companies they lead.

“It’s been shown interestingly that very diverse boards and businesses tend to perform higher. So there’s a good commercial rationale, but I think before you can start on that journey it’s got to start with the data, so you can diagnose where the issues are and then really hone in on those areas.”

And when it comes to words of advice for those working in financial services who feel underrepresented, Ndawula says: “Try and take some risks in your career because many things aren’t irreversible. 

“People think they are, but I think it’s about taking risk with your career and trying things and putting yourself forward, because if you don’t try, you’ll never know.

“And I think it’s all about trying to develop some momentum. So the more people who push the boundaries, they can actually create the opportunities not just for themselves, but for people who follow them as well.”

Chloe Cheung is a features writer at FTAdviser