Issue 4 2021

CEO MONTHLY / ISSUE 4 2021 15 At the Top of his Game PES’s development would not be possible without the teams located across the continent. “If the culture wasn’t what it was, and our people weren’t who they were, then we wouldn’t have achieved the successes that we have,” he asserts. While technology and robust processes are integral to PES, as a human capital-intensive business, it is the people and culture that are truly vital to the company’s successes. “The culture is entrepreneurial and ambitious. We roll up our sleeves and get on with what is required, again a legacy of where we’ve come from - no one’s too big for the job. We also have a growth and learning mindset, constantly seeking to understand what we need to do to be better. I like to think we are very open and very transparent in the way that we ask questions of ourselves to enhance and grow the business. That permeates throughout the organisation.” Fraser continues, “We hire for culture, we don’t hire for talent. Talent is important but you’ve got to look beyond the CV at what the individual can bring to the business. If they can enhance or contribute to what it is that we’re building at the cultural level, and if the core values are in place, talent will look after itself.” Once recruited, PES employees are offered extensive training and development, as well as opportunities to have their say in how the business can be better through weekly pulse checks that are part of the firm’s award-winning employee wellness programme, “PES People Matter”. The programme, which was built by employees, for employees, gives Fraser and his executive team insights into the issues that are affecting their teams and take efficient steps to resolve those matters. “PES People Matter” was just one of the outcomes of the last year brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. Like so many other businesses, Pepper saw the impacts of the pandemic but unlike many, it reacted immediately and early, moving 95% of its employees to remote working in only a matter of days with a seamless efficiency in which Fraser takes great pride. It is likely that PES will maintain this more flexible working structure throughout the pandemic and beyond, broadening its recruitment net as well so it is no longer limited to the catchment area around its offices when seeking out the best new talent. In a wider context, Fraser sees Covid having a material impact on the broader European financial sector. Similar to the wake of the 2008 Financial Crisis, this will require European servicing platforms to deliver innovative and proactive solutions that meet the needs not only of their clients but also that of regulators across the UK and Europe. PES is spending significant time and capital in looking at ways it can drive innovation and deep insights into the impact of Covid on the portfolios it manages. Despite the intensity of 2020 that was caused not only by the pandemic, but also by a takeover approach from one of its competitors that ultimately fell through and a rapidly changing macro environment, the last year was PES’s best yet. So while Fraser and his team are focused on PES’s recovery from the intensity of the last year, they have also embarked upon an in-depth review which will set out the longer-term strategic direction of the business, ensuring PES continues to deliver the best possible servicing and asset management solutions to their clients. “Everything we do at Pepper European Servicing, right across the group, is driven by the quality of our people, the robustness of our culture and a myopic focus on data and analytics,” concludes Fraser. “We have a very client-centric and customer- centric view of the world, which is underpinned by absolute trust, transparency, accountability and challenge. While we are proud of what we have achieved since we started the business back in 2012, we are hugely excited about what the future holds. We will continue to set our internal aspirations high and work until we reach them. Then we will reset them and go again”. Contact: c/o Laura Gosling ([email protected] ) Company: Pepper European Servicing Web Address: www.peppergroup.co.uk