Philip Grant: Chair of Scottish Financial Enterprise & leading Scottish banker

Scottish Business Network

As a school-leaver, Philip Grant went straight to work in a branch of Bank of Scotland and, 40 years on, his career continues within the same group. He's now Chief Operating Officer for Insurance & Wealth at Lloyds Banking Group, as well as being Chair of Scottish Financial Enterprise. However, despite all that has happened since, Philip still remembers his first piece of advice from his boss: “Never take your jacket off in front of a customer.” He also says that much of his early time at the bank was spent fetching scones and pies for older colleagues, but he clearly had talent that was spotted further up the ladder. At the age of 26, he was parachuted into a full-time MBA at the University of Strathclyde and then steadily rose into senior positions, navigating the global banking crisis and the HBOS/Lloyds merger, and now helping the group to steer a way through the pandemic crisis, economic gloom and market disruption. Down to earth and a natural communicator, Philip tells his story with great humour and hard–earned insights in an interview with Fraser Allen recorded on 4 February 2022. www.allencomms.co.uk