Tell me about your career with Trustmarque?

I joined Trustmarque when I was just 18 years old. I was doing work experience in the credit control team with Software Corp and they offered me a role once I finished my studies. I started in the finance department in a licensing position where we had to physically print licenses, which shows how long ago it was.

From there, I went into procurement but realised I enjoyed relationship building and talking to customers, so I moved into sales and the ‘Blue Light Team’ (looking after emergency services accounts).

I left the York office and had a period working for Trustmarque in London followed by several years where I left the company and worked for other technology businesses, including vendors and resellers. However, I came back to Trustmarque in 2010 and have been here in the Healthcare Team since.

What brought you back to Trustmarque?

The people. Over the space of 20 years there has been many people changes of course, but the ethos is very similar. As a business, they actually care. You don’t feel like a little fish in a big bond – you feel like part of a team, which is a real testament to the managers. I don’t think I would be anywhere else right now.

Tell me about your current role

I’ve just returned from maternity leave so I am finding my feet again. Prior to that, I was looking after NHS Trusts in the midlands and the north. Supporting them to make the right decisions on their IT strategy, whether that’s security, desktop solutions or server infrastructure. I don’t sell, I advise on the best options. It can be a risk if customers take the advice and go elsewhere to another vendor, but we are a consultative business.

How was it returning after maternity leave?

It’s been great. It feels like a work family at Trustmarque.  I have scaled down the amount of customers and travel time since returning to work. I feel that Trustmarque is good at agreeing to the right workload to suit  individual lifestyles and work-life balance.

My manager is very supportive of each individual, even though he has a host of characters. Without that support, I don’t think half of us would be as successful as we are. There is great support outside sales too: admin, operations, finance. They don’t lean on you unless they need you – there is a lot of accountability and responsibility.

Where do you see the role going next? What are the opportunities you are interested in?

From a customer point of view, I am keen to work more with Arm’s-Length Bodies (ALBs). Supporting and managing those accounts and moving into areas like contract management, lifecycle management, security and renewals. My focus is on ensuring we deliver excellence to customers who have moved to Trustmarque and making sure they are aware of short, mid and long-term options.

The thing that is particularly exciting thing for me is that there is an increasing focus on security. I have key strengths in managing timelines and keeping customers abreast of what they can and can’t do, so there is a huge opportunity to provide advice in this area.

Will you be staying at Trustmarque?

For sure.

What three words would you use to describe Trustmarque? People. Consult. Grow.