In conversation with Mark Smith
New President of the Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, Mark Smith, Commercial Banking Relationship Director at Lloyds Banking Group, chats with Ruby Edwards from You Do Better PR.
Your alarm goes off… I don’t have an alarm, usually waking between 5.30-6am. Then, coffee, a few chores, online news and a cuppa for Mrs S at 6.45am.
How did you start doing what you’re doing? I applied for a life-long job with the Black Horse (Lloyds Bank, not the local hostelry!) in sleepy Suffolk and have been riding the old nag for 40 years since!
Your typical day…
- The good – Client, prospect and professional partner meetings – in person, MS Teams or occasionally a simple call – to ensure I stay close to their strategic plans and operational requirements.
- The bad – Starting a little earlier and ending a little later than ideal for your well-being; skipping a healthy lunch and eating far too much junk food because you’re committed to what you do (not at all good for a type 1 diabetic with a long-term chronic lung condition!)
- The ugly – The inevitable internal challenges that go alongside working within any blue chip!
You’re responsible for: Family – but with only one child left in education the end is in sight… and my clients. I have 60 SME clients, some single entity, some multiple groups (parent/subsid/linked) of clients; principally in the manufacturing sector with a healthy interest in educational organisations that I am responsible for. Also, I manage a range of family owned, institutional and UK divisions of overseas parent companies. I continue to enjoy my role as Lloyds Bank’s primary contact for my clients, working in long-term partnership with the pleasure of supporting some clients for over 15 years.
What worries you? This article – I haven’t written something that so closely resembles my CV for years! The shape and state of the world my kids and step-kids will inherit when I’m not around…and like a lot of us of we want to try and control the uncontrollable.
What are your notable highlights to date?
- Personal – Marrying my lovely wife; five marvellous children who have six of their own growing children between them: two equally marvellous stepchildren. All unique, as we all are.
- Physical – Two London Marathons (1994 & 1997) but slowing down now and well on the way to fell-walking the 214 Lakeland Wainwrights, mainly trailing behind my gazelle-like wife – 25 to do.
- Commercial – 40 successful years with Lloyds Bank across a wide range of roles – relationship, risk and operational, across Corporate, SME and Retail banking teams.
- Community – Leading local fund-raising opportunities which have contributed over £75,000 to Herefordshire & Worcestershire hospices and foodbanks in the past 6 years.
What’s the key to your success? Being yourself; stop worrying about climbing the corporate ladder; put others first; know your imperfections; get organised.
Who or what has been your biggest influence? No-one in the public eye… too many individuals to mention but they almost invariably have the skill of blending drive and determination with care and compassion.
What’s on your to do list? To finish this before the publishing deadline! More international travel; developing a role in the third stage of life (perhaps in the third sector).
Biggest bugbear? The very occasional half-hearted, self-centred, egotistical, folk who lack commitment to what I want to achieve….and then I have to step back, review whether I’m falling into that very same category and realise we’re all different! My seeming inability to stop taking too much on board, which is why this is being written on a Sunday afternoon only slightly after completing my, almost late, tax return. Too many exclamation marks in any written piece of work – whoops.
What did you want to be when you grew/grow up? At the age of 7, a Manchester United striker to take George Best’s place or a fighter jet pilot…both wholly unrealistic especially now I (honestly) wear 4 contract lenses (all at the same time).
Where can you mostly be found after work? If you mean 9-5, still AT work in my home office, until Mrs S returns from her daily toil…then watching The Chase.
Best piece of advice you’ve received? Be kind…not always easy, but always the right thing to do even if we all fall off that horse from time to time.
Your party piece? Making the in-laws laugh when playing drunken charades on Christmas Day.
What’s next? My 60th birthday in August – cards superfluous (think of the planet); LinkedIn messages acceptable; Valpolicella and experience day vouchers gladly accepted. And clearing a recently acquired and densely overgrown allotment whilst hoping my dotage is many years off and you all have to tolerate me for a long while to come! (PS, that was my final exclamation mark…NOT!).
More about Mark can be found here.