The Five Minute Interview with Jo Edwards, Business Development Director, United Trust Bank

By Tony Sanchez 5th October 2016

United Trust Bank is an established, specialist lender providing a wide range of secured funding facilities for individuals and businesses and competitive deposit accounts for individuals, businesses and charities.

We speak to Business Development Director, Jo Edwards:

What is the best thing about being in the bridging finance business?

Meeting and working with interesting people including brokers, colleagues and customers.

The people at United Trust Bank are a fantastic bunch to work with and I am really enjoying my new role there.

What keeps you focussed?

Being able to do a good job for the team, the broker and the customer. It is vitally important we continue to assess our position in relation to service and product offering and make positive changes.

What qualities do you look for in your employees or colleagues?

Very often I find people with the right behaviours end up becoming the best employees, not always the person with the most qualifications or experience.

I love to see a great positive attitude, ambition, determination and good self-awareness.

Are you an optimist or a pessimist?

Definitely an optimist.

What did you want to be as a child?

A pathologist! I chose Science at University, and to this day I still love reading Patricia Cornwell novels.

What will be the greatest challenge facing the bridging finance industry in the coming months?

People have differing opinions regarding the impact of Brexit, but I believe there may still be consequences for the wider economy which we haven’t yet seen.

United Trust Bank is in a strong position to continue to deliver its commitment to brokers and customers and is particularly keen to support SMEs with ambitions to grow.

The referendum result has given additional motivation to an already ambitious Bank, to think about further diversity and innovation in products and services and I’m very excited to be involved in that process.

Who or what makes you laugh?

My husband is pretty good at making me laugh, often at myself! Otherwise I do love to go and see live comedians; Sean Lock had me crying with laughter recently.

Do you dread Monday mornings?

Not at all! Joining such an ambitious firm means coming to work each week is exciting. Travelling up from Cardiff on the train also gives me a chance to collect my thoughts and prepare for the week ahead.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I’d be taller- being 5’3 in a pub trying to watch a Six Nations match is a challenge.

With whom would you most like to have dinner?

Sir David Brailsford, so I could question him on the amazing work he has done at Team Sky and previously with Team GB.

I am waiting for him to bring out a business book on his famous ‘100 1%’s’ but as yet it remains elusive.