In the second of our series of ‘Trustfolio Spotlights’ on key figures in the industry, we talked to Steven Coppard, group director of debt policy and strategy at Arum

Steven Coppard is group director of debt policy and strategy at Arum. In the second of Trustfolio’s new Spotlight series, Steve finds himself in the ‘Trustfolio hot-seat’.

Tell us a bit about yourself. What is your career background up until the point of joining Arum?

I lived in Spain from the ages of 11-17 and missed my GCSEs; you didn’t have to do your GCSEs over there. My dad had a bar, so I got a job at 14 and got a motorbike, which was also allowed over there! When we came back to the UK, I studied for them at 17, but I can’t say I’ve used them.

I lived with my nan in a one-bedroom flat, claiming social security and intended to do my A-Levels. But the government told me I had to go to work. So I was a bingo caller, a labourer, a Tesco bag packer in a blue gilet, department store manager and finally joined what was Customs and Excise.

What made you want to join the debt sector? Did you fall into it as a career or did you always want to empower people when it came to their finances?

I fell into it, but I stayed for the empowerment. I still didn’t know what I wanted to do when I joined Customs and Excise, but I used to watch The Knock on TV. It was a show where customs agents did drugs busts and I thought it looked fun!

I applied to my local office and was very disappointed - there were no drugs busts happening in Croydon! I ended up in the VAT debt department and discovered I was good at it. I was good at being argumentative, which is what was expected of you 20 years ago! But after a couple of months, the performance tables all looked the same.

I realised if we tried to get people out of debt, rather than get debt out of them, we’d probably have better success. I shot up those league tables and secured promotions, but then it went wrong. I had a bad relationship break up, got into debt after living a poor lifestyle for a year and owed around 25 people money - some of them dodgy doorstep lenders.

I discovered it was so hard to get out of debt, there were too many barriers and everyone was treated the same. The real game-changer was when I worked on the government’s fairness agenda in the Cabinet Office. No disrespect to those colleagues, but many were highly educated from wealthy backgrounds and didn’t have a clue about what many people were going through. 

How did you end up on the Trustfolio debt-tech podcast?

I met Peter Wallwork when he was CEO of the Credit Services Association and we agreed on the big issues in the sector. He became a real confidante and provided a much-needed external view when I needed to bounce ideas off him.

I actually met Lou Yates on LinkedIn. I think we were brought into one another’s algorithmic spheres because of Peter. Lee? Who doesn’t know Lee!? People gravitate towards him.

How do you address the challenge of getting everyone in the debt sector that technology is the key to better outcomes for everyone?

LinkedIn is an echo chamber, it’s really important to get out at events and provide commentary in the media. The FCA’s The Consumer Duty requires good outcomes for the entire journey. The collections agency, debt advisor, everyone become part of every creditor’s journey.

Early adopters of technology will be well ahead of the curve by now; those who haven’t will have to make major investments to catch up.

What do you think the future holds for the debt sector?

In the regulated consumer side, the FCA is getting us to a good place. Those who sit outside the FCA will be challenged. Businesses that fail to adapt to customer needs will fail to adapt to their own needs.

The government needs financially healthy individuals and businesses for the country to successfully operate. More pressure on one fails the other. Then people's spending and voting habits will change.

We also need legislation that covers all types of debt when it comes to collections.

Personally, what do you enjoy doing in your "spare time"?

Cooking, especially cooking outdoors. I love doing a tapas day for the neighbours. My son visits every fortnight for the weekend, and we love to cook together. I’m still very much in love with Spain. We book cheap hotels because we just spend our entire time going round tapas bars.

 If there were three dream people you'd want to get round the table to share your thoughts on the debt sector, debt-tech and how you think the sector needs to move forward, who would they be and why?

Richard Feynman, he was an American physicist who was central to quantum physics. He was a clever person who happened to turn his hand to maths and physics and who had endless curiosity.

Spock from Star Trek. He always has a pure logic view with no emotion. We need to understand logic first, then get drawn into people.

Brene Brown - she’s an author who has had a big impact on my life. Daring Greatly is one of the top five books I’ve read.

Tell us when something hasn’t quite gone to plan at work (make us laugh!)

In my first management role within Customs and Excise, I had eight people apply for a role. I had to write 1,000 words for each candidate about why they were suitable for the job. I wrote the same thing for each person and got busted! 

Give us a fact people don't know about you