Becoming a Commercial Manager 

at MSMG

I've been in the car insurance industry for best part of 13 years, where I started within a call centre. I worked across various business areas for one of the biggest UK insurers, before moving to a role where I managed commercial relationships with the Price Comparison Websites. I then left for a short stint in lending before joining MSM.

I worked with a fair few people across the business in previous roles and I always got a sense of great culture. Everyone was passionate, eager to get stuff done and ultimately, great to work with! Also, after working for years on the insurer side, I wanted to get involved and see what it was like on the other side of the fence, working with some big insurers for a PCW!

I'm working within the Commercial team, driving value through new and existing partnerships. I'm working with some big brands and leading some key strategic items. It’s not all pretty though, when I joined, I wasn't expecting the sheer volume of negotiations and focus from the business. Everyone is also very creative and with new ideas flying around. That said, the objectives are clear and I've been trusted to deliver!

First things first, the recruitment process was slick, engaging, honest and everyone was welcoming! On my first day, I was met by Sara Newell (General Manager of Insurance). Sara spent the day running through the business strategy, what it meant for our teams and where all the challenges lie. Sara was also asking for my input along the way and was open minded with any suggestions/challenges!

After meeting people from different areas, its fair to say, my thoughts on the MSM culture were validated! After the first week, i felt like I'd been here for months (in a good way). I'm now just over the 6-month mark and I'm still loving the role. As mentioned, I'm leading key parts of the strategy and delivering real value to customers, our partners, and the business.

I could go on for ages with everything I like about MSM but I thought I’d share a few of the main points:

• The People: MSM is full of creative, motivated, and driven people. Everyone wants you to do well and the investment the business puts into development and company benefits, creates a brilliant culture.
• Challenging: I'm not going to lie, the role is very demanding, however like I've said, I've led some high value initiatives which has completely taken me away from my comfort zone and made me think differently! There's a lot going on here and expectations are high but ultimately, I'm proud of some of the results delivered so far and keen to do more!
• Direction: The direction of the business has been communicated in such a clear manner; it’s enabled our team to build a focused strategy. This has made for clear objectives being set out and I'm trusted to make decisions to deliver great results. Also, everyone is working towards the same goals!!
• Autonomy : Following up on trust, I'm given autonomy to get initiatives delivered. I'm trusted and encouraged to challenge, test/learn, and think outside the box!
• Socials: Right, I've been to 3 work parties (2 in London and 1 in Manchester), rugby in Cardiff, Theatre in London, Chocolate making, visits to different offices, various lunches/dinners and in November, we're off to Petra (in Jordan) where 48 colleagues are raising money for CALM trekking across the desert! It’s a very social environment and gets me out and about!!

If I had to give advice to some joining the team, it would simply be, get in involved, be openminded, be prepared to roll your sleeves up, bring/share all your ideas and we'll smash it!