Our People | Meet Sergio Cruz

Director of Risk

A rock music fan through and through, Sergio is Redwood Bank’s Director of Risk. He has a love for surfing and is enjoying his current career path with the Challenger Bank, where he has been based for three years now. An extremely motivated member of the team, Sergio is a big fan of list writing, but not such a lover of early mornings, as his sleep is often interrupted by his young daughters.
 

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

The prospect of another exciting day at Redwood and the ability to help shape the future of this amazing Bank.

It’s a great place to work, I feel on a daily basis that the interests of staff and our customers are the most important driver for everything we do, and that this is shared by everyone at Redwood, at all levels.

Redwood is now four years old - what’s the one standout piece of feedback you have received from a customer in that time?
 

Someone once said to me: "I know I can call Redwood at any time and someone will be on the other end of the phone to help me."

That meant a lot, and obviously means we’re doing a great job!

What’s one thing you know now about banking that you didn’t before joining Redwood?

That it is possible to work in an environment that seeks very high levels of professionalism and amazing customer-centric services, while at the same time maintaining an amazing family-style work environment.

Challengers vs high street banks – is there a place for both?

There is definitely space for both, especially because larger banks will continue to be expected to be even more "standardised" and "automatic" in their decision-making process. This leaves space for Banks like Redwood that treat each customer as an individual and not as a number.

In terms of Redwood evolving over the coming years, I think the Bank will continue to grow, based on the solid foundations that we have been setting since the very first day, and will continue to expand the ways in which it can support its customers.

However, the macro-economic environment will continue to be uncertain in the coming years and will be the biggest source of risk, not just for Redwood, but for the whole industry. However, Redwood is well equipped to navigate through these uncertain times and come out stronger at the end of this period.

What advice would you give to someone considering a career in banking?

Don’t be afraid to do different roles until you find the one that makes you feel most happy to come to work every morning.

A very valuable piece of advice I was once given was that keeping a list of all the things that I needed or wanted to do during the day was essential. The reason is that if it’s only in the head then brain power is being used to remember the tasks, instead of applying that power to achieving goals.
 

What three people, dead or alive, would you invite to your ultimate dinner party?

Eddie Vedder, Chris Cornell and Kurt Cobain. My three biggest "grunge" music inspirations.