The Big Interview: Aegon UK CEO Mike Holliday-Williams

New Aegon chief Mike Holliday-Williams explains how he’s coped taking the reins of a financial services provider so exposed to Covid-19’s devastating effect on the markets.

Holliday-Williams notes that the firm is one of the largest private sector employers in Edinburgh. Picture: contributed.

Mike Holliday-Williams was announced in September as the new chief executive of Aegon UK. He formally took over from Adrian Grace in January.

How do you feel taking the helm at such an extraordinary time and how has Aegon responded?

These are extraordinary times but it’s a privilege to lead a company with such a clear purpose and long history. Aegon started life as Scottish Equitable in 1831, so has seen its fair share of major world events, but there’s no doubt the coronavirus has created challenges no one predicted or planned for and we’ve had to adapt and support our nearly four million customers.

I’m hugely proud of the way the business has responded. We’re one of the largest private sector employers in Edinburgh and the wellbeing of our employees has been our first priority. This is both in terms of the initial decision to move everyone to working from home and subsequently supporting flexibility for those with childcare commitments and other initiatives designed to keep teams connected while working remotely.

From an operations perspective, we had well-established business continuity plans in place and had done a lot of work ahead of the lockdown on how we’d continue to run the business remotely. This meant that when it was implemented we opened up additional methods for our customers to contact us.

For example, forms that would have been submitted through the post can now be sent in online and we introduced webchat for those logged into our investment platforms. This type of project would typically have taken months, but the business moved at remarkable speed to deliver it in a matter of weeks.

There’s also been a huge push to make sure everyone can work from home effectively. That’s included introducing new software to enable contact centre employees to answer calls at home, as well as providing more laptops, office chairs, and new communications tools like Yammer and Microsoft Teams that allow people to stay connected.

We’ve placed significant emphasis on our communication with customers and the employers and financial advisers we serve. We’re trying to help them make sense of what’s going on in the most engaging and innovative ways possible with the use of video Q&As, for example.

How do you see the industry, and the wider economy, panning out post-Covid?

Over the coming months, we’ll get a better sense of how quickly economic activity will return, but our expectation is that the economy is in for a very challenging period.

Factors like the level of stock markets from which we earn our fees, consumer attitudes to saving, and the ongoing viability of employers who select us as their pension provider will all have an influence on our sector. However, we manage around £180 billion of customer money, which gives us a good deal of scale and means we’re well-placed to cope with the challenges this represents.

One of our business areas is the provision of investment platforms that help financial advisers and their clients manage their money. We believe that this market is over-supplied and in the long run is likely to consolidate. The coronavirus crisis may accelerate this process as smaller players struggle.

How easy will it be to drive home the savings/pensions message amid the current turmoil?

The pensions, investment and protection products that we offer are relatively resilient. We help people save long-term for their futures and protect their families and businesses against the unexpected and both of these needs remain.

We recently conducted some research to see how people’s savings habits have changed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic – 60 per cent of savers say they’ve altered their monthly savings with around 30 per cent increasing their contributions and 30 per cent decreasing them.

This reflects the different ways in which employment is being affected, with many of those still in work able to save more without travel costs and so on, while the self-employed and those who’ve been furloughed typically reported a reduction in their ability to save.

One factor the sector has going for it is that auto-enrolment and the pension freedoms have raised the profile of pensions. I think many people recognise the importance of consistency and the benefits of leaving their savings to compound over time. That said, we’re taking nothing for granted and one of our roles is to consistently make the case for long-term saving.

What qualities and attributes do you bring to the role?

A passion for customers and growing this business. And hopefully a fresh perspective, having never worked in the savings and investments market before. I also have a strong desire to really engage our people and build the skills and capability we need to deliver a great service every day and for the longer term. I’m focused on building great teams and enabling collaboration across the business.

What motivates you/how do you remain positive?

For me it is all about balance. You have to love the job you are doing but also ensure you can be at your best every day. Personally, that means having a great family around me, a good working environment, and ensuring I stay fit in terms of both body and mind. I try to run around 30 miles a week and take time out by reading, painting, cycling or just thinking and making sure I get enough sleep! Taking time out from being a CEO is crucial to being successful.

This has been truly tested during the Covid crisis. However, starting from a strong base has enabled me to remain positive. It’s also great to work with colleagues who are focused on supporting their local communities and I take inspiration from the charity work and volunteering that employees are responsible for, like our Breakfast Clubs with local primary schools.

Last year, Aegon employees raised £106,000 for good causes in Edinburgh and other locations where we operate. To reflect our commitment to our local communities during the coronavirus, Aegon felt it was right to make a corporate donation of £250,000 to charities including the Trussell Trust and Royal Voluntary Service.

How will technology change the business over the coming decade?

A decade is a long time these days in technology. The use of data, the cloud, software that truly integrates with other systems, and increased automation has not really hit the savings platform industry as much as the insurance industry where I was previously.

If that is anything to go by, ease and speed of use, the level of personalisation, better design in either the services the customers interact with or the systems behind this, will make things simple and cheaper for everyone including the end customer.

In our sector there is still work to do to ensure that customers have a single log-in from which they can see all their savings and quickly access the help and support they need.

Digital means of communication are only going to accelerate. For example, our recently launched personalised pension video summaries enable customers to watch a short animated film updating them on their savings progress and the things they might want to think about given their life stage. Data and insight will underpin many of the big changes in our sector as it will enable firms to personalise the service they offer to customers.

What are going to be the key priorities at Aegon UK during that time?

We want to help people achieve a lifetime of financial security. We want to provide the best long-term savings solutions from an individual’s first day of employment to the end of retirement.

We want to enhance people’s financial wellbeing and their relationship with their finances. We’ll do this by helping connect employers and individuals and financial advisers and their clients across their lifetime while providing access to high-quality, relevant saving and protection solutions. We can only do this if we build the leading adviser experience and smarter workplace solutions. This means investing in our platforms, our service and products.

We also want to deliver an exceptional experience and better serve and engage our customers. This means we must have the best digital experience across all our customer channels.

Responsible business will be a key element of our strategy as we want to be a trusted and sustainable partner that is here for the longer term. We also want to maintain our growth, be efficient and have a strong balance sheet whilst investing in the business and its people.

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