Introducing Thomas Maddy

We needed all sorts of information from our retailers at the time, so a really robust process was required to monitor this data. We developed a system that automatically checked the permissions of thousands of retailers which made the process much smoother for everyone involved. I suppose that was really the start of the Process Improvement and Controls department.

Why do you think you've stayed with Novuna for nearly two decades?

It genuinely is a good place to work, and I've been given the opportunity to move roles within the business so I've always had fresh challenges to look forward to. I've not stayed stagnant here.

From the auditing team to IT and data analytics, and of course Consumer Finance, I've had exposure to lots of different areas of the business. I've had a lot to get my teeth stuck into over the last twenty years.

You didn't start your career at Novuna, though, did you?

I had a mixed bag of roles in my early twenties, starting out as an auditor before travelling to Australia to work out there. It was a great period of my life and I had some fantastic experiences. When I returned to the UK, I worked in sales for a web development business before joining the Novuna team.

Your role here is extremely varied. What does your team look after?

As the job title probably suggests, we manage and develop a range of processes and controls for the Consumer Finance division that ultimately helps to reduce risk and ensures both ourselves and our retailers are operating in a compliant manner.

For example, we need to make sure that our retail partners are authorised to continually offer finance to customers so it's our responsibility to check their FCA permissions at the appropriate intervals.

We also support retailers in ensuring they remain compliant once they start selling finance. If, for whatever reason, a retailer isn't selling compliantly we have processes in place to identify that and support them going forward.

There's plenty on your to-do list that isn't directly related to compliance and risk too. Can you tell us more about that?

A lot of processes and key documents fall under our team's jurisdiction as we have ownership of the group's CMS system. We look after key departmental processes that support lead management, retailer onboarding, contracting, annual retailer reviews and e-commerce integration management. Keeping everything manageable, up to date and compliant is a big job.

Then there's the maintenance and upkeep of our retailer insights dashboards and e-learning platform...

How closely do you work with the wider Consumer Finance team? 

Extremely. I've been a Relationship Manager myself so I know first-hand what kind of support our retailers need and ultimately our aim is to give retailers that added value. I know what the team does, how our data works, the opportunities and limitations.

As I've been part of the business for many years, my team has really been developed from scratch so there has been lots of opportunities for us to grow and support various business units too. While we're part of the Consumer Finance division, we also work closely across the Group to create and test out new system developments.

So you can create bespoke solutions to meet the team's needs?

That's right. I enjoy getting stuck in and actually building the processes and systems we need myself. I spend a lot of time developing our CMS so we can really make the most of the software we have.

Here's a good example. We worked to deliver dynamic contracts that can be generated automatically in our CMS software rather than the team having to manually add every bit of information into the system. Things like this might seem like a small change, but they can make such a difference to our team's day-to-day whilst also improving processes for our retailers.

Is that a fairly rare way of working within the retail finance industry?

I think so, yes. It's a much better way to work because we can be more responsive when we're working with the wider team day-to-day.

We understand the challenges and opportunities both our team and our retailers are facing. We just wouldn't get that kind of exposure if we were sat on a different floor of the office in a siloed risk or compliance team.

The conduct risk projects we undertake provide a huge added value to our retailers, too, helping them to identify risks within their own business. It's this extra level of care and support that makes Novuna stand out.

What would you say are the challenges - and opportunities - of taking on a completely new role within a business?

You don't know what's possible until you make it possible. Over the years I've utilised training resources provided by Novuna and worked closely with the wider team to expand my knowledge and skills. For example, I learnt BI development and how to tailor our CMS system so we could make the most of every opportunity to learn from our data.

The Process Improvement and Controls team has been almost handcrafted by myself and the wider Consumer Finance team. It allows us to tailor my team's roles to the department's requirements. It's very bespoke, and requires a unique knowledge of the business that myself and the team have built up over time.

Did the new Consumer Duty requirements have a big impact on your team?

It did. Consumer Duty was new legislation, so we needed to perform GAP analysis to help us identify any areas of improvement. As we expected, Novuna as a business was already addressing many of the key requirements, as responsible lending and treating customer fairly is so integral to the business. But we put plans in place to address any areas we felt could be improved.

We also needed to ensure our retail partners knew about the new Consumer Duty and how to continue to compliantly sell finance. Myself and my team were responsible for distributing that information and ensuring our partners were kept fully up-to-date with the changes. We'll be continuing to support retailers in this area as we work through the project.

Do you work directly with retailers? 

We do collaborate directly with retailers looking for support on processes or bespoke data insights. We have a wealth of information that we're able to share.

So what does a typical day look like for you?

A typical day for me is never what it's meant to be!

I try to structure my week so there's plenty of room to progress planned tasks, but also the capacity to be reactive. I'd say I spend about 60% of the week on planned work, such as recurring tasks or progressing strategic projects. The other 40% is being responsive to new requirements and ad-hoc requests that drop in from the team or our retailers.

We have a long list of development opportunities and new projects we're wanting to press on with too, which we plan into our weekly schedule. Our processes and systems are constantly evolving. The work we do is never really finished, but that's just the nature of the beast.

Can you tell us any of your career highlights?

Building the Process Improvement and Controls team from scratch and embedding the first line of defence model into the business has been a great opportunity.

t's not often you're able to be part of something from the very beginning, and I'm proud to have been involved in building almost every process we have within the team.

What makes you proud of your team?

Anyone in my team has to be curious and driven to learn. I really love to see them push themselves to craft bespoke solutions. Of course, this means colleagues needs to be up for growing their own knowledge and not being afraid to make a few mistakes in order to learn quickly! But retailers don't need to worry - we have a sandbox environment so we can try new things, have a tinker, see what works without any risk of breaking anything.

It's great to watch my team build their knowledge and make a valuable contribution not just to Consumer Finance but eventually to other areas of the business too.