Profile - Julie Fawcett: Philosophy of embracing change is key to surviving the recession

Julie Fawcett was one of six high flyers tasked with creating the Pru's new banking arm and they quickly identified a niche for a 24-hour internet banking service.

"It's something we take for granted in 2010 but in 1995 it was pioneering work," says Julie, recalling the inception of egg.com.

"We wanted to create something that offered quality, accessibility, speed and excellent service – something to attract the new techno population. Yes, the technology was important but combining that with strong customer relationships and offering round the clock access to banking services is what made egg.com such a revolutionary brand."

Working secretly to protect their innovative ideas and keeping costs to a minimum the team set up base outside the capital in Dudley, in the West Midlands. With a target to launch within 10 months the pressure was on to get the computer systems and customer service team in place.

"Our mantra was 'on time to budget' but it was a massive undertaking. We had to recruit staff, train them and build the technology. Our mission was to change the banking world for the better and what we did lay the foundations for what we have today."

The technology wasn't the only thing that came from across the Atlantic. As HR director, responsible for having the right people in the business, Julie adopted some US coaching techniques to instil her team with core values and principles.

"I had to initiate a very different culture where people understood their responsibilities and were accountable for their actions. We wanted to develop a relationship between a bank and a population and that required a new way of thinking."

Remembering the launch – which, incidentally, was "on time to budget" – Julie says it was the culmination of one of the most exciting journeys of her career.

"Because of the techniques we adopted to develop people and the way they gelled together it was one of the fastest, brightest and most creative teams I've ever worked with."

At the end of the 10-month project Julie quickly moved on to new challenges and undertook a series of strategic board level projects for clients including Barclays Plc, Coutts Private Bank, Telehaus Europe, C&W, and ORC worldwide. She coached several directors and chief executive officers of FTSE 100 companies to improve performance, organisational impact and communication skills.

Since then she has worked as an HR and regulatory director for Aon Ltd and global HR and communications director for FTSE International, where she was involved in the development of a worldwide business development plan. She has also undertaken several non-executive roles, including being non-executive director of the Disabilities Trust.

Julie's work has taken her to corporate environments in India, Hong Kong, the Middle East and France. With FTSE she contributed to the development of a worldwide business development plan and established partnerships and joint ventures in China, India, Singapore, South Africa and Malaysia.

Her experience of overseas business culture taught her about people development in different environments.

"Working abroad helps you to appreciate and respect other mindsets. Cultural differences can exist from one global office to another within a large corporation and value sets often differ too. It's important to appreciate those variations and take them into consideration when setting values and expectations across an international organisation."

But even when working closer to home Julie believes it's important to look at potential and avoid pigeonholing the individual.

"Most of my career has centred on helping organisations make the most of the skills they have and proving that good people don't have to be boxed into a particular role.

"Egg taught me that fantastic creativity and brilliant basics can coexist and that there is a place for enjoyment in the workplace. Businesses will survive if they have the ability to change at pace and the willingness to do it. At egg.com we often worked 24 hour shifts but we were driven by a desire to succeed and we didn't want to let our team down."

Julie believes businesses – and banks – took their eye off the ball in subsequent years but she feels strongly that a new political landscape and a renewed focus on employee engagement will help Britain out of recession.

Now CEO of executive coaching organisation up2now, based in Harrogate, she helps businesses make the changes that will help them to survive, sharpening their business skills and developing talent management strategies and succession plans.

"Shareholders are becoming more demanding and they

want to know that their organisation has a people pipeline and that succession plans are in place.

"At the same time, businesses are recognising how devastating it can be to lose good people and they want to make sure they hold on to what they have.

"As the economy constricts people are going to be forced to work harder but if they work smarter they will weather the storm. A change of mindset is required for businesses and employees and reluctance on both parts to adapt could see them go to the wall."

JULIE FAWCETT

Title: CEO, up2now

Date of Birth: December 18, 1961

Education: BSc (Hons) Psychology

First job: Manpower planning for Dudley health authority

Favourite holiday destination: Sydney – a vibrant city, with sunshine

Last Book Read: The Coroner by MR Hall

Car driven: Mini Cooper

Favourite Film: Moulin Rouge and Shawshank Redemption – a contrast of style.