INTERVIEW AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCI<strong>CM</strong> was in manufacturing and sales of chemicals to the amenities sector and he had 20 or so reps out on the road, all paper-based. “Despite some initial resistance we got them all laptops and modernised all of the processes and policies such that we attained BS5750. I remember he whooshed past my desk one morning and without smiling told me to make him a coffee, treating me like his secretary. I made him a cup and slapped it down on his desk,” she laughs. “I knew then it was probably time to move on!” Approached to start a debt management company, Denise was quick to realise the challenges that such businesses faced: “We were doing the due diligence on a company we were thinking of buying but decided against it. It was just as well as soon after the company went bust. We ended up buying their book of clients and diversified into creating a very successful consumer DCA – Improved Financial Solutions – servicing a portfolio of clients across financial services, motor, utilities and telecoms.” Such was the success of the business that it attracted interest from others, not least a world leading Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) business, Teleperformance. Teleperformance acquired Denise’s firm in 2004, and she became Managing Director of its collections arm. It was an exciting time, responsible for collections operations not just in the UK but also interacting internationally, notably South Africa and the Philippines. But again, Denise missed the direct interaction with her colleagues and customers and on leaving the business after more than eight happy years spent 18 months as a consultant to two other DCAs, helping them improve their bottom line and supporting them through FCA authorisation. It was during this time that she was invited to meet the team at Motormile Finance, a debt purchasing business: “At the time it had around 70 people and was turning over c£800,000 per month. Now it has more than 140 people turning over £3.5 million per month, and we have acquired almost four million customers.” VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS One of the first things Denise looked at was the brand: “I have always taken the view that any customer in the alternative lending space is vulnerable, and so we looked at how the business communicated and the language it used, softening the suite of communications to make it more accessible and retraining the staff and management to change our approach in areas where change was needed.” Denise also took the opportunity of not only doing right by their customers and clients, but also by her own teams: “I introduced long-term incentives so that everyone in the business can benefit, and not just the senior management.” One of Denise’s most significant achievements was steering the business through FCA authorisation under supervision. She sees this, however, as an advantage: “It gave us a much better understanding of what the FCA actually expects,” she says. “The name ‘Lantern’ was chosen for two reasons,” Denise continues. “Firstly, because I genuinely believe that we are a leading light in the sector and secondly because we are a light at the end of the tunnel for our customers. Working with vulnerable customers as our USP meant we were ahead of the game when it came to the pandemic. “Of course, most agencies will claim today that they have policies in place to identify and manage vulnerable customers, but we actively buy portfolios of vulnerable debt and have built a bespoke platform that gives us a true single customer view. Having total visibility of a customer’s debts ultimately means a significantly better customer journey and a better customer outcome. Our customers only have to make one payment across multiple debt lines, and only have to deal with one communication.” Denise is proud that the work she and her team have accomplished has been recognised with both an Investors in People and an Investors in Customers Gold award. BRANCH ADVOCATE Perhaps not surprisingly given Denise’s passion for the credit industry, she is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management, and in the early days was a regular member of her local branch: “It helped give me further insight into the world of credit and how businesses worked,” she says, “and I learned a great deal. I still enjoy reading the Credit Management <strong>magazine</strong> as it captures so many different aspects of the industry.” Denise is also a key figure in the Credit Services Association (CSA), having spent a quarter of a century on/off the Board: “I have never been afraid of speaking up for the little guys,” she laughs, “and take tremendous pleasure in being able to help others and freely giving advice where advice is needed.” A previous winner of the title Businesswoman of the Year, Denise is also an active champion of helping other women make it in business: “It’s much better than it was,” she sighs, “but it’s still a hard slog and not yet where it needs to be. “I remember one incident many years ago when the directors were all meant to be paid the same and I found out that one was getting much more than I was. I was told it was because I had no children, and he had three at a private school that needed paying for, so he had more need of it than me!” Which brings us back to the start of the interview, and Denise’s point about pushing herself forward more: “If I were my younger self again, I would have been more confident, much earlier, in asking for what was rightfully mine. Age or gender should never be a barrier to being paid properly for the role you do.” And does she regret never becoming a detective? Perhaps that’s a question you might like to ask her yourself. Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / November 2021 / PAGE 14
INTERVIEW AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCI<strong>CM</strong> “The name ‘Lantern’ was chosen for two reasons, firstly, because I genuinely believe that we are a leading light in the sector and secondly because we are a light at the end of the tunnel for our customers. Working with vulnerable customers as our USP meant we were ahead of the game when it came to the pandemic.’’ Denise Crossley FCI<strong>CM</strong> Chief Executive Officer, Lantern. Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / November 2021 / PAGE 15
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