FINANCE
Farewell Q & A with Kevin Gray
Kevin Gray has officially stepped down from his role as Chief Executive at Bath Building Society , a role which he has held since 2018 . We caught up with him for some nostalgic reflection on his career .
Tell us where and when your career started – what was your first role ?
My first proper job was as a Weapons Engineer Officer in the Royal Navy ( RN ). I served six years in the RN with four of those being in nuclear submarines . The Navy also introduced me to Bath . My late wife Rebecca was a Bath native and I met her through her brother who was at Dartmouth Naval College at the same time as I was there . I like to think that love brought me here !
When and why did you join Bath Building Society ?
After I left the Royal Navy , I spent four years working in Bristol for Arthur Andersen , the international accountancy firm . I re-qualified as a Chartered Accountant with them but fancied doing something other than audit services . My Mother-in-law ’ s boyfriend had a friend called David Naish who had an accountancy firm in Bath . David was also the Chairman of Bath Building Society ( BBS ) at that time . It just so happened that David was looking for someone with an accountancy background to join the Society ’ s senior management team . I was interviewed by David and the Society ’ s Chief Executive , Rodney Hodgman . I was offered the role of Society Secretary and started in November 1998 .
What was Bath Building Society like then ? How has it changed and how has it remained the same ?
The Society that I joined back in 1998 was already very commercially successful but like many organisations that grow quickly , it was in need of new people , new ideas and a greater focus on business controls . Some aspects of the Society have changed a lot over the years . In 1998 the Board of Directors was made up of solely of the ‘ good and great ’ of Bath and all of them were men . We now have a significantly higher proportion of women on our Board , we have appointed our first female Chair and our ethnic mix across the business better represents the wider community that we serve . Over the last 25 years I have seen the use of technology within the business become ever more important too . In 1998 our first networked computer system had just gone live . Now we are employing mobile apps , i-bots and robotic processing . However , other aspects of the Society are as familiar today as they were when I first started . There is still a family feel to the way that we operate and a real sense of the Society ’ s wider social purpose . We still put our Members ’ interests at the heart of our decision making .
What has been the highlight of your time at Bath Building Society ? What are you most proud of ?
Over 25 years I have been very fortunate to have been able to perform different roles at the Society . When Dick Jenkins became Chief Executive back in 2003 , I switched to running our Savings Department . This commercial role was very challenging but great fun . I also became the Society ’ s Finance Director in the early noughties and successfully steered the Society through the difficult days of the financial crisis . I then progressed to being Deputy Chief Executive with responsibility for growing the subsidiary businesses that we had at that time . I am proud to have successfully led the Society through some very difficult times including the recent pandemic . Most of all I am proud that the four best years of lending that the Society has ever had were during my tenure as Chief Executive , and that a major programme of investment in people , process improvement and technology was initiated under my leadership .
What does the future look like for you ?
Although I am standing down from Bath Building Society , I do not intend to retire quite yet . My initial intentions are to spend some time catching up on many years ’ worth of backlogs of redecoration and DIY at my home . After that has been done , I may start looking for Non-Executive appointments within the building society sector or elsewhere . However , I am going to give myself the luxury of a long summer break before I fully make up my mind on what direction I go off on next .
What does the future look like for Bath Building Society ?
I am confident that the Society has a bright future ahead of it under the leadership of my successor , Richard Ingle . The future technological and commercial challenges will be many , but the fundamentals of the Society ’ s business are very strong and ‘ Team
Bath Building Society ’ is more than capable of delivering future success .
What have you learnt / what has stuck with you from your time at Bath Building Society ?
Over 25 years I have learned that the importance of looking after people cannot be overstated . It is just about everything in a financial services business . If the Society ’ s senior people successfully manage the performance , training and welfare of their colleagues and our colleagues do their utmost to look after the owners of the business i . e . the Members , then great things can happen . With the BBS team being just 78 people , each of our colleague ’ s contribution is more than 1 % of the business . I have been struck by just how powerful a team can be when everyone is pulling in the same direction . I have also learnt that if you want an easy life , then don ’ t change anything . Sadly … Chief Executives are paid to make changes so that option doesn ’ t really exist .
If you could start your career again , what would you do differently ?
Gordon Brown once said that Labour Chancellors of the Exchequer either fail … or they get out in time . Being an executive director is a bit like that too . Although I am proud of the many things that I have achieved at the Society , it was never quite as much as I would like to have achieved before I departed . It is fair to say that when you arrive in a new role there is a sort of honeymoon period where you have the ability to make significant changes without upsetting too many people . If I had to start my career again , I think I may be braver / bolder with delivering change at the start of each new appointment . I might also move business more often as I don ’ t see today ’ s executive careers being formed by spending 25 years in the one place .
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