Meet Ben Smith, our Head of Product and Commercial
Ben Smith is the Head of Product and Commercial at Newcastle Building Society. He joined the Society in June 2003, having finished school and subsequently has spent time working in customer services, IT and marketing before taking the leap into product development in 2013. Born and bred in Gateshead, he lives there today with his wife and two young children and to this day remembers receiving the news of his promotion to Product Development and Propositions Manager on the same day as his wedding in 2013.
Ben is an ardent Newcastle United fan, who is looking forward to the remainder of the season and believes his son is the luckiest football fan alive enjoying Newcastle's success; something that was once the stuff of his own boyhood dreams. He is also a fan of Formula 1 - a sport where building and being part of a high performance team is the only sure fire way of winning. It's an ethos that those who know him will probably say he carries into his working life.
Why did you choose Newcastle Building Society?
After my initial decision to join Newcastle Building Society, I stayed here because of two main reasons. The first is that I really appreciate the culture and aspirations of the Society. It's something that is very important to me. Our success is built on doing the right things for the right people for the right reason.
On a second, more personal level, I have really enjoyed and benefited from the variety of career options the Society has offered me. Over my twenty years, I have worked in many different parts of the business but it is not so large that you cannot ever see projects and tasks through to their conclusion, which is hugely rewarding. I've been able to experience so much - from working through the challenges of the financial crisis in Newcastle Strategic Solutions to delivering award-winning new products - all of which has prepared me for the job I am doing now. The growth journey that we have been on for the last five years has been exhilarating and rewarding, as we have delivered products that really help members on both the savings and borrowing sides of the balance sheet.
However, the culture is something I am truly thankful for. All this work would not be possible without my colleagues and team to help me. I'm very grateful for their support and thoroughly enjoy management and seeing them grow and develop. The Society is going from strength to strength, and I have a fantastic team to deliver the change and innovation we have planned.
What does your role involve?
My role is to initiate and oversee product proposition, pricing, product set-up, risk and the day-to-day management of products on both the mortgage and savings sides as well as any product partnerships we undertake. I'm incredibly proud to lead a team that has brought products like Deposit Unlock and First Homes to the market as well as our Help to Buy ISA and our Cash Lifetime ISA. Dealing with both sides of the balance sheet is incredibly important in understanding the commercial nature of what we do as a Building Society. The last fifteen months have illustrated just how a volatile interest rate environment can impact and empower our business.
How do your broker relationships inform what your team produces?
Covid was incredibly unhelpful in that it dented the momentum we had for getting out and talking to business partners and members about the kind of products they really wanted. I'm absolutely looking to increase the time we spend with people to improve that and ensure we are delivering product propositions that really make a difference to brokers and their borrowers, as well as our savings community.
What are the challenges and opportunities you face over the next 12 months?
While I would never be so glib to think that the current economic environment does not present enough challenges, I am very optimistic that the Society is perfectly placed to deliver even more innovation to really help borrowers and savers over the coming 24 months.
My personal goal is that I can look back in five years' time and see the difference we have made to people's lives - whether that be in terms of delivering more help for aspiring and current homeowners or for those needing to make the most of their investments and savings.
We need to find the ideal innovations that offer scale as well as being clever to help our communities. Thankfully we've got one or two coming soon!
For more information about how we can help you do business:
Talk to your dedicated Business Development Manager or contact your Intermediary Support Team at Intermediary.lending@newcastle.co.uk or 0345 602 2338. Our lines are open 9am - 6pm Monday to Friday.