Tracy Sheldon

Current

Head of Operations Support at RIAS plc

Past

Senior Client Communications Manager at Insight Investments (part of HBOS PLC)
Marketing Consultant (Contract) at RIAS Plc
Senior Marketing Communications Manager at Barclays Wealth

Group Marketing Manager, Wrap Propositions at Abbey
Member Nominated Trustee, Abbey National Group Pensions Ltd at Abbey
Employee Communications Manager at Abbey
Marketing Manager, Personal Loans at Abbey
Marketing Manager, Life, Investments and Pensions at Abbey
Insurance Development Consultant at Abbey
Financial Planning Adviser at Abbey
Financial Adviser at Endsleigh Insurance Services

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8 more...

Education

Chartered Insurance Institute
Chartered Institute of Bankers
University of Strathclyde

High School of Glasgow

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1 more...

Recommended

10 people have recommended Tracy

Connections

140 connections

Industry

Marketing and Advertising

Tracy Sheldon’s Summary

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS include:
* Led a media agency review for the Fortis UK Group from initial search & selection through to contract negotiation & completion, resulting in a 27% saving on media agency fees.
* Developed and delivered a through-the-line international marketing campaign to capture additional assets under management. Achieved a 9:1 return on marketing spend, 181% of campaign target and a 259% uplift in assets compared to previous activity.
* Achieved a twelve-fold increase in Abbey’s internet lending over the period of a year
* Orchestrated pricing and promotional activity, which increased internet lending from 4% to 37% of total unsecured lending within a 12 month period, increasing average internet loan size by 21% and payment protection strike rate by 50%.
* Repositioned Abbey's Protection Plan, through an integrated marketing plan and a robust internal communications and training programme for advisers. Total sales volumes of plans with Critical Illness cover were 154% of previous year. Protection plans sold with Critical Illness cover increased from 62% to 76%.
* Produced a five-fold increase in sales of loan protection. Strike rates quadrupled.

Tracy Sheldon’s Specialties:

- A senior B2C marketing professional from a retail financial services background with multi-product and multi-channel experience.
- A decisive, results-oriented leader, with exceptional planning and organisational skills.
- Communicates persuasively with consumers and demonstrates an empathy with sales people, influencing them to deliver.
- A people-oriented, creative team player, experienced in directing cross-functional teams in a pragmatic way to achieve business objectives.

Tracy Sheldon’s Experience

Head of Operations Support

RIAS plc

(Public Company; Insurance industry)

May 2008 — Present (1 year 8 months)

Leading the Operational Change Agenda at RIAS
Senior Client Communications Manager

Insight Investments (part of HBOS PLC)

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Financial Services industry)

January 2008 — April 2008 (4 months)

Led the marketing effort on the implementation of a new internet content management system, achieving sign off on a functional specification document and driving forward all the marketing workstreams. The marketing director was delighted by the progress made within a short timescale.
Marketing Consultant (Contract)

RIAS Plc

(Public Company; 501-1000 employees; Insurance industry)

January 2007 — December 2007 (1 year )

* Recommended and implementing improvements to home insurance documentation, making it clearer and easier for customers to understand, thereby ensuring that it meets the FSA’s “treating customers fairly” guidelines. Customer research demonstrated that the new documentation was a significant improvement on the current version and that the new policy book is one of the clearest that the respondents had encountered.
* Recommended and implementing improvements to the home insurance retention process to improve retention rates.
* Provided input and energy to a wide range of projects. Members of the exec. management team indicated I had made a significant and positive impact to the company's marketing in the time I was with them.
Senior Marketing Communications Manager

Barclays Wealth

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Financial Services industry)

January 2006 — October 2006 (10 months)

* Developed and implemented a robust international marketing plan to deliver required business results. On track to deliver 10% income growth in 2006.
* Achieved sign off for a business case to recruit an increased headcount of 5 client communications managers (from an original headcount of 0 FTE) and recruited the additional team members, who are now delivering campaigns and product launches to achieve the 2006 income target.
* Developed and delivered a through-the-line international marketing campaign to capture additional assets under management. Achieved a 9:1 return on marketing spend, 181% of campaign target and a 259% uplift in assets compared to previous activity.
Group Marketing Manager, Wrap Propositions

Abbey

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Financial Services industry)

July 2004 — November 2005 (1 year 5 months)

* Recruited to spearhead the development of a new, online investment service proposition for consumers. Created a detailed strawman proposition and formulated a robust, insight-based business case that enabled senior management to make an informed decision on the commercial merits of the proposition.
* Managed all internal and external marketing communications on Abbey’s high net worth Intermediary Wrap service, maximising Abbey’s presence at minimum cost – saved £300k over a 4 month period.
* Completed a review of all literature supporting Abbey's Wrap service for intermediaries, recommending a streamlined and improved literature suite. Achieved positive feedback and support from the sales team.
Member Nominated Trustee, Abbey National Group Pensions Ltd

Abbey

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Financial Services industry)

May 2002 — November 2005 (3 years 7 months)

BOARD APPOINTMENT -
* Appointed to the Board of Directors responsible for the running of the various Abbey National Pension Schemes, which have 41,000 members and £2.2bn funds under management.
* Liaise on a regular basis with Abbey’s senior executives in order to manage the investment strategy, oversee the administration, ratify ill-health retirement decisions and other matters requiring board approval.
* Active member of Investment Sub-committee, setting investment strategy, selecting fund managers and reviewing performance.
Employee Communications Manager

Abbey

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Financial Services industry)

January 2004 — June 2004 (6 months)

* Established relationships with senior management in the Customer Propositions division in order to create and implement a divisional employee communications plan that met the objectives of the management team and the needs of the members of the division.
* Pioneered a robust planning approach that was implemented across all Customer Divisions to ensure a steady flow of relevant communications to employees, avoiding bottlenecks and inappropriate communication clashes.
* Led company-wide internal communication of a number of confidential and highly sensitive projects, including complex issues such as the With Profits fund zero bonus rate announcement. Selected the most appropriate medium through which employees received information, enabling them to do their jobs effectively.
Marketing Manager, Personal Loans

Abbey

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Financial Services industry)

February 2002 — January 2004 (2 years )

* Achieved a twelve-fold increase in internet lending, when accountable for the internet channel unsecured lending performance.
* Orchestrated pricing and promotional activity, which increased internet lending from 4% to 37% of total unsecured lending within a 12 month period, with no negative impact on quality of lending or profitability.
* Increased average internet loan size by 21% and the payment protection strike rate by 50%.
* Instigated the recalibration of pricing and profitability models as part of cross-channel role. These improvements reflected consumer price sensitivities, applicant quality and behaviour for each channel - increased new business margins by 25%.
Marketing Manager, Life, Investments and Pensions

Abbey

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Financial Services industry)

August 1998 — January 2002 (3 years 6 months)

* Managed and drove the performance of a number of key life and investment products in various stages of the product life cycle, as well as leading projects to improve cross-sales on mortgages and savings bond maturities.
* Repositioned Abbey's Protection Plan, through an integrated marketing plan and a robust internal communications and training programme for advisers. Total sales volumes of plans with Critical Illness cover were 154% of previous year. Protection plans sold with Critical Illness cover increased from 62 % to 76%.
* Produced a five-fold increase in sales of home improvement loan protection and strike rates quadrupled.
* Led work with colleagues across marketing and sales to integrate cross-sales seamlessly into the mortgage sales process, providing a sales presentation pack. Sales feedback was excellent.
* Received an Abbey Marketing Excellence Award for the quality of content that supported the relaunch of Abbey's internet site in 2000.
Insurance Development Consultant

Abbey

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Financial Services industry)

July 1995 — August 1998 (3 years 2 months)

* Supervised, coached and developed a cross-section of employees from experienced Branch Managers to new trainees on Abbey National Life and mortgage products. This included training & coaching on new products; sales skills; computer systems; fact-finding; best advice and report writing.
* Developed and delivered training that had positive impact on sales results. For example, one training session on a key investment product increased sales in the area by the equivalent of an extra 1.5 advisers over a 9 month period.
* Coached individuals and teams, creating significant improvements in the quality of advice provided and record keeping – advice quality was 15% better than the regional average.
Financial Planning Adviser

Abbey

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Financial Services industry)

December 1992 — July 1995 (2 years 8 months)

Company representative of Abbey National Life, selling a wide range of life, investment and pension products
Financial Adviser

Endsleigh Insurance Services

(Public Company; 501-1000 employees; Financial Services industry)

September 1991 — December 1992 (1 year 4 months)

Company representative of Friends Provident, selling a wide range of life, investment and pension products

Tracy Sheldon’s Education

Chartered Insurance Institute

AFPC , Advanced Financial Planning Certificate , July 2001
Chartered Institute of Bankers

Certificate of Financial Advisers (CEFA) 1996
University of Strathclyde

BA Hons (2:1) , Marketing & Psychology , September 1987 — June 1991

Dissertation topic – “The Importance of Cross-Selling to a Financial Services Company”
High School of Glasgow

1980 — 1987