Colleagues from across PFG, including five of our six shortlisted women, attended the Women in Credit Awards this week. Charlotte (Charlie) O'Hara from the Cards Marketing team brought home the silver prize for ‘Team Player of the Year’ .
The Women in Credit Awards champion the work of incredible women across the entire credit and financial services industry. They empower, connect, support, and uncover achievements among inspirational women.
The black-tie event, held in London on 21 September followed a day of conferences and panel discussions. The key topics were career development, the future of finance, diversity & inclusion, and allyship.
Fiona Anderson, PFG’s Managing Director of Cards took part as a panellist on the topic of Financial inclusion: Opportunities and challenges.
It was fantastic to represent Vanquis and PFG during the day and share my insight with so many other women working in our industry. There was so much positive debate and discussion I was truly inspired and so pleased that as a business we’ve been so involved in this event." Fiona Anderson, Managing Director of Cards
PFG’s involvement in the event also included Natalie Trist, Chief Credit Officer for Vehicle Finance who was part of the 14-member judging panel.
“It was truly an honour to be part of the awards judging panel. I got to read so many fantastic entries about women who are truly moving the dial in our industry. Congratulations to Charlie for her silver award, and to all those that were shortlisted! Your recognition is truly deserved, and all the more special as you were up against such stiff competition!" Natalie Trist, Chief Credit Officer, Vehicle Finance
Below is a summary of the PFG colleagues shortlisted for awards:
Contact Centre Team Leader Liberty Garrett was a finalist for ‘Rising Star of the Year’ award. Since joining Vehicle Finance just two years ago, Liberty has successfully led the implementation of a new IT system into the Customer Service team and been promoted to a Team Leader role because of her extensive knowledge and capability in supporting customers. These achievements are even more impressive given that this is her first full time role, and they were achieved during a pandemic.
Hareena Matoo, Associate Product Manager in Cards, was also shortlisted for ‘Rising Star of the Year’. She joined the Cards Product team in 2021 after completing her rotations in the Ops Graduate scheme. In a short space of time, Hareena has completely revamped our process for launching new card price points. With 15 different stakeholders to co-ordinate, she harnesses the incredible working relationships she has built across the Bank to drive us forward. Hareena has also supported a number of extra-curricular activities for colleagues; with speed mentoring sessions, LeanIn Circles and virtual events during lockdown.
Charlotte O’Hara, Senior Manager for New Business Partnerships in Cards, was shortlisted for ‘Team Player of the Year’ award. Charlotte (Charlie) has been driving new product launches for cards and expanding distribution channels for loans. She took on a senior manager role for a maternity secondment and has also had to recruit, welcome, mentor and train three new team members. She was also elected as the Colleague Forum rep and Colleague Engagement champion on top of her busy role.
Naomi Grant, a High-Risk Customer Support Agent, has also been shortlisted for ‘Team Player of the Year’ award! Naomi is a champion for customers who are vulnerable or who are facing difficult circumstances. She passionately educates other colleagues to raise awareness of how to achieve the best possible outcomes for these customers. Impressively, her audit scores rarely dip below 100%.
Sandra Taraboi was shortlisted for the ‘Team Leader of the Year’ award. She has been driving to fully refresh our card acquisition scorecard. Following a 2021 restructure, Sandra was responsible for a brand new product – open market loans. Her enthusiasm for instilling a test and learn culture within the team has really stood out!
Bethany Bolton was also shortlisted for the ‘Team Leader of the Year’ award. She has created a new marketing and partnership team to support the creation and launch of a new personal loan on a brand new tech stack. Bethany was the driving force behind the branding, tone of communications, website, social engagement, and commercial partner relationships.