In Conversation with our new CEO, Mark Clayton

He also shared his vision for the future and growth of Triodos Bank, and the role that he believes sustainable banking can play in making broader, positive change in the UK. Mark covers questions across a wide range of topics, and we also get a real insight into why Mark cares so passionately about his role leading a sustainable bank and what excites him. 

Mark, you’ve made the leap within Triodos from Chief Operating Officer to CEO, how does that feel?  

It feels really special, it's an enormous privilege. Not just the role, but actually the organisation that I'm working for. It almost felt to me like I was sort of witnessing the best of humanity when I entered Triodos, and that's why I'm so passionate about the role. I think we represent the best of ethical and values-based banking. The conscious use of money at Triodos, the way we lend money, is truly unique. 

What are the priorities for the bank as you see them and what's your focus going to be? 

I think to start with, just listening. As I joined as the COO, obviously I got to know lots of parts of the bank. There were also lots of parts of the bank that I didn't know so well, and I really want to make sure that I've sat and listened to coworkers from across the organisation to work out how the bank can be better. Being able to get out and see customers for the first time, has been wonderful, and I really want to understand what our customers want from us as we go forward. 

One of my most immediate priorities is spending time understanding our business lending and our business banking business. As it's really important - it's where we have all our impact. Very simply, we take customer deposits to do good, and when we lend money is where we're doing good. And so, I'm really interested to know how can we grow that part of the business? 

What was the catalyst for moving to Triodos?  

I think having children was, as it would be for a lot of people, a real game changer. You start thinking about your life in a different way and what matters. You worry more about your children's life than your own and what world they are being brought up into.  
 
I feel like we've entered the world of the mega billionaires, where a handful of people have got more wealth than everybody else in the world. It's deeply unjust and it's not penetrating down into the people that most need it. Increasingly I've looked at both the political system and the economic system in which we operate and come to the conclusion that this just doesn't work for ordinary people.

There were a number of questions from customers around executive pay and banks, and how are you going to ensure that kind of culture doesn’t seep into Triodos now that you’re in charge?  

We've got really strict principles both in the UK and internationally in terms of fair pay. Executive pay in banks gets a lot of headlines, quite rightly. I think I'm right in saying the mean CEO to employee average is around 77 times, and I think the largest is 614 times, which, if I'm being honest with you, feels obscene. I can't imagine any role where that's justified, even in the biggest organisations in the world. 

At Triodos we're at 5.4 to 1. We believe in fair pay and we also don't pay bonuses. Due to the mechanisms around us and my own personal values, I'm confident we would never be in the space that you see in the headlines regarding other banks and building societies. 
 
Is there anything you’d like to say directly to customers?  
 
An enormous thank you to everyone that banks with us, because we will never take for granted the loyalty that our customers provide us, or how we must use our customer’s money to do good. There’s a risk of slipping into habits that put profit above people and planet, but they’re not true to what we stand for. That is not in the DNA of the organisation and it’s not the direction we’ll ever head.  
 
Maybe one last thing, is if you love us, please recommend us. We need more people to join us to have more impact in the end, and a personal recommendation is more important than any amount of marketing. We’d love to have more word of mouth to get people coming to bank with Triodos.  
 
The excerpts above have been taken from the full recorded interview, and edited for clarity, which you can watch or listen to below.  

You can also listen to the audio version of the interview: 

Spotify 
Apple Podcasts