Sharon Bishop has gone from running a highly-regulated FTSE banking business to becoming CEO of PremFina, the fastest growing premium finance lender in the UK. Outside the boardroom she’s a champion equestrian breeder and mother to two highly successful children – her daughter is the CEO of NME and her son is an accomplished property developer. Below are the key lessons she has learned along the way.
Surround yourself with brilliant people
To run a fast-growing fintech business you need to be nimble, brave, resilient and to do everything at speed. The transition from a PLC to a Private Equity-backed fintech was a steep learning curve for me. Luckily, I was fortunate to have brought a brilliant, highly experienced team with me. Together we were able to build the structure we needed to be able to operate, at speed and turn our hands to many different requirements.
I surround myself with exceptional problem solvers who have bags of energy and seek perfection – but not at the expense of progress. We learn together and there’s no room for egos. I believe in a flat hierarchy where we are equal, simply executing different roles, giving members of the team autonomy and room to fulfil their potential.
Flexible working fosters a diverse culture based on trust
Building a strong and positive culture is critical to success; ours has been shaped by how we recruit and the way we work. We switched to flexible working during the pandemic and haven’t looked back.
Working remotely has given us a competitive edge in recruitment and helped create a more diverse workforce. I’m incredibly proud to lead the most diverse team that I’ve seen in the financial sector, in terms of ethnicity, geography, gender, sexual orientation, neurodiversity and age. Even our Senior Management Team is over 60% of women, compared to a finance industry average of just 35%. I believe diversity is a superpower. It fuels innovation, fosters greater empathy and has played a crucial role in our success.
Sport teaches us how to fail and succeed
I am passionate about breeding equestrian eventing horses. It is my dream to have a horse that I have bred and sold go to the Olympics. The sport is extremely competitive and brutal, and breeding the ultimate event horse is so tough, but you learn to pick yourself back up from the falls, and that lesson translates into the PremFina context. The equestrian business has made me stronger and braver.
I believe more generally that there is an intrinsic link between sport and corporate success. Without the losses and challenges encountered in horse breeding, I would not have been able to move from PLC to Private Equity so easily. I also like to think I see a clear link between my children playing sport to a high level and the success they have gone on to achieve. The words of an overly proud mum for sure!
Always make time for people
Even though our team has grown to over 140 people, I still make it a priority to sit in on every new starter and promotion interview. These interviews are a business barometer which allow me to gauge energy, enthusiasm and resilience.
When recruiting, I look for curious minds and a fresh approach – these are the people who go furthest. The presence of a ‘growth mindset’ knows no bounds. I learn so much from those around me and I’ve really benefited from reverse mentoring. Some people think this is altruistic, but it’s actually quite selfish as I get so much out of it! It allows me to reflect on my own progress and consider how I can do things differently and better. I think you must consistently seek to learn and grow as a leader – we can never know enough and should never stand still.
Remember why you show up each day
I’m a big fan of author and inspirational speaker Simon Sinek and his book, Start with the Why. One of the founding principles we instil in new joiners is to think of the customers behind our finance. Our finance product enables customers to pay for insurance in instalments. This has a huge impact on everyday lives– from parents driving their children to school, to construction businesses needing public liability insurance whilst building anew cancer wing of a hospital, right through to a happy couple who have just bought their first home and are insuring their new life together.
We provide finance for insurance premiums to a wealth of people, institutions and companies, who without us, couldn’t afford the annual premiums. When you consider the real people behind a product, you see the direct impact your work has on their lives. By shifting our focus in this way, we are able to give everyone at PremFina a real sense of pride in their work, demonstrating the intrinsic value in what they do.
