This Thursday I am retiring after 26 years of continuous service, starting in administration with Punter Southall, then transferring in 2014 to the trustee business which merged with 20-20 Trustees to become Vidett 2 years ago.
I recently heard Heather Small’s ‘Proud’ on the radio, the song asks “What have you done today to make you feel proud?” – it struck a chord. I wondered what I had done over this time that made me feel proud?
Three things came to mind…
1) Developing new joiners to the pensions industry
Going way back when I was head of administration, I introduced a business placement programme so students from the University of Portsmouth and University of Surrey had the opportunity to spend a year in the pensions administration team before returning to their respective universities to complete their final year of studies.
This approach helped ensure we always had bright juniors to help us maintain our high quality service, whilst also enabling recruitment of first class staff who had been tried and tested.
Many of these people are now working in senior positions across our industry: Sarah Austin is the Manager of Benefits for Rio Tinto), Amaal Mistry is now Head of Client Analytics at Schroders) and Jonny Weaver is Operations Manager at XPS Administration to name a few – each excelling in their pensions careers, something which makes me feel proud!
“I remember coming to the Guildford office fondly (and the interview!) and the immense joy I felt when I was asked to come back once I had finished my degree. It made me feel like I had done a good job!”
– Sarah Austin (Manager of Benefits, Rio Tinto)
2) Enhancing the role of governance
When I transferred to the trustee business, I naively thought I would become a professional trustee but Wayne Phelan had other ideas! He recognised the importance of sound governance in running pension schemes and asked me to help build up that side of our business.
The next thing that stands out in my mind is winning the appointment to a key client in 2015 and the successful project to bring their six schemes under one trustee board. Over the next few years our team built a robust governance structure and strong relationship with the client which continues today, although I handed over the Scheme Secretary role to Curtis Mitchell in 2022.
“Your support and guidance during my time there were instrumental in my career development, and I truly appreciate the opportunities you created for me.”
– Amaal Mistry (Head of Client Analytics, Schroders)
3) Successfully implementing the general code
The third project I am proud to have been a part of is related to the general code of practice. As governance specialists we realised The Pensions Regulator was serious about raising governance standards, so we set up a team with a wide range of skills that I have chaired since 2021.
It took some time for the final general code to be published – eventually last year – but this meant we were very well prepared to provide cost effective governance tools and materials to our clients – indeed it meant we were the first to offer our services to the market. I have no doubt Vidett will continue to be leaders in this area.
“Gillian has been one of the pivotal people getting me to where I am now to which I am very grateful. Her guidance and unofficial mentoring has been invaluable. On top of that, Gillian has a fantastic sense of humour which really does help on those tricky days!”
– Curtis Mitchell (Client Director, Vidett)
Saying goodbye
I have recently said some sad farewells to clients I have worked with for well over 12 years. I have been touched and a little embarrassed by their kind words. When all is said and done, our business revolves around building relationships which are always based on trust – that involves always doing what you say you’re going to do and managing expectations when there are snags along the way. It’s not rocket science!
Further farewells to my lovely colleagues have followed – you don’t stay in the same business for so long unless it’s fun to work there! I have been so lucky over the years to work with excellent pensions professionals who are also great company and I really will miss that. However, I am pleased to continue as a Trustee to the Church of Scotland Pension Schemes which I do on a pro-bono basis – so I will be keeping abreast of pensions issues while also being on call as granny now!
Our thanks go out to Gillian Graham who has been a key part of our story which ultimately saw us become the business we are today. Best of luck in your next chapter Gillian, you will be missed by all of the team!
