David Stewart

David Stewart

COO

Stewart describes how the company’s digital transformation is unlocking exciting opportunities for trusted professionals...

David Stewart’s journey with Wesleyan began in April 2019, when he joined as Technology & Transformation Director, rising to his present role five months later. Originally trained as a chemist, Stewart found that his true passion lay in business, “I had my first foray in financial services in 2008 when I joined what was HBOS, which was taken over by Lloyd's in a matter of weeks.” 

Rising steadily to a number of executive positions within the company, he relates that, when he first heard about Wesleyan, he was immediately drawn to its culture, history and the opportunities it presented. “I was particularly attracted to the company’s mutual heritage: we're not here to meet short-term shareholder goals; we’re here to deliver value for our members and customers. That's a goal I buy into wholeheartedly.” Stewart relates that he brings three aspects of his career outside of finance (primarily retail and sales) to bear on his role as COO: customer-centricity, colleague focus and commerciality. 

Regarding his philosophy on corporate leadership, he states, “It’s essential that leadership sets the tone in terms of culture. It is critically important to recognise when brilliant behaviours are shown. I think great leaders have to be authentic, as well as being honest and transparent. Businesses are facing challenging times at the moment and the last thing you want to do is sugarcoat any of that. You've got to be very honest, very transparent, and evaluate both what's going well and what isn't. Now, more than ever, you also need to be agile and flexible as a leader. You need to be prepared to accept that the old way of doing things is probably not the most appropriate way for the future.”

Stewart also highlights the importance of a company to know ‘who it is’ in the market and play to its strengths appropriately. “[Wesleyan is] not a mass-market player. Rather, we cater to our customer groups in a very focused and appropriate way.” Wesleyan’s ongoing transformation, combined with a well-crafted product range and award-winning investment team, appears to form a strategic roadmap geared for success. That success will belong not only to the company and its staff but also to its customers, whose vital work is needed now more than ever. “What attracted me to Wesleyan was the opportunity it presented. I’m 18 months into the role now and absolutely still firmly believe in our message.”

Read the full story: HERE 

Share
Share
Author

Featured Interviews

Featured

Diana Halder

Partner, Payments Practice Leader

EY Canada’s Payments Practice Leader, Diana Halder, talks about innovating payment rails and why gender equality in the workplace is personal

Read More

Jeremy Zung

Chief Information Officer

As Chief Information Officer at Alvarez & Marsal, Jeremy Zung’s helping the consulting firm to think introspectively about its own technology and processes

Read More
The key benefits for us in automation are reducing manual processes, reducing manual mistakes, and improving our efficiencies
Jeremy Zung
Chief Information Officer

Bart Leurs

Chief Innovation & Technology Officer at Rabobank

As Chief Innovation and Technology Officer at Rabobank, seasoned executive Bart Leurs is in charge of a team at the forefront of driving the bank forward

Read More

Wojciech Lacz

Chief Information Officer at AccorInvest

Spearheaded by Group Chief Information Officer Wojciech Lacz, a digital transformation has taken place at AccorInvest, and the entire company is in on it

Read More

Scott Sanborn

CEO of LendingClub

LendingClub is disrupting the customer experience through its innovative digital marketplace bank, says CEO, Scott Sanborn

Read More

Diana Halder

Partner, Payments Practice Leader

EY Canada’s Payments Practice Leader, Diana Halder, talks about innovating payment rails and why gender equality in the workplace is personal

Read More