Our people | Meet Tom Worbey

Tom Worbey, Products Officer

Having completed a History degree at University of Exeter, Tom proudly joined Redwood as a Products Officer, to work closely with other departments across the business.
 

Tell us more about your role at Redwood Bank and why you’re so passionate about it?

My degree has given me so many transferable skills to bring to my role here at Redwood. I work closely with Business Development, Credit and Finance to assess the metrics of our savings and lending products. We also work to design new products and make changes to existing ones. This is where I spend time on market research and analysis to continually improve our deposit and lending performance.
 

What’s the best part of your job?

I really enjoy the flexibility of the work I do. I know I’m still early into my career and, having heard stories of other friends who are restricted in their roles, I am conscious of keeping my mind open to lots of areas of the business. Generally, no day is the same because the products team are frequently working on new projects. I like the challenge of having new projects to work on and it’s rewarding to see your work contribute to helping both the Bank and our customers grow.
 

What made you choose Redwood?

I think it’s clear that Redwood wants to build something and become a real partner to SMEs across the country. Everyone is determined to push the Bank forward and help out those SMEs who, despite being so vital to the UK economy, are often ignored by the larger banks.

We have a great culture here, too. And this isn’t something I would have expected from a Bank before I joined. From a personal perspective, the size of the Bank is fantastic for personal development. I have been exposed to a lot of experienced people and gained experience from the level of exposure I’ve been given.
 

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

Don’t feel limited by your previous educational background. One thing I have noticed from talking to people, both inside and outside of Redwood, is that your degree does not define you. Really concentrate on those transferable skills you have learned and focus on how you can use them at work. I think banks value having people from all types of backgrounds and with a broad range of minds for problem solving.
 
Finally, take every opportunity to learn and understand how a business operates, even if you won’t use the information, it helps better your overall understanding of the role.
 

And, finally, please tell us something that we don’t know?

 
I used to be a competitive swimmer, getting up at about 4:30am most mornings for a two-hour session, then, somehow, I would manage to get through school without falling asleep, before heading off to another two hours of training in the evening. I’m not sure at all how I did it, nor how my parents managed to cope with it (sorry Mum and Dad).