Getting to know: Emma Willis

...Emma is our Group Compliance Manager and she joined The Kindertons Group in April 2018. Her role involves risk management and compliance monitoring.

Tell us a bit about your background.

I trained as a solicitor in a high street firm in Walsall qualifying in 2007. When I qualified I moved to DAC Beachcroft’s insurance fraud team. Following a short break to start a family I then moved into regulatory compliance in 2013.

What do you think is going to be the biggest regulatory challenge for our customers over the next five years?

At the moment this is the FCA authorisation of claims management companies followed immediately by the introduction of the SMCR. This will be followed very quickly by major PI reforms so it’s a very busy time for this industry and will remain so for at least another 12 months.

Why did you decide to do the work you are doing now?

I am a ‘compliance geek’ and I enjoy the varied work.

What's a typical day for you working at Kindertons?

There is no typical day!

What makes Kindertons different to other places that you’ve worked?

The Group is nationwide and has several regulators which gives a really varied work load for compliance.

In your opinion, what does good customer service look like?

Going above and beyond (subject to regulatory limits) to ensure that the customer receives the best possible outcome on every single case.

If you didn’t do your current job, what would you do instead and why?

I would be a full time compliance consultant as I love the work and want to use my experience in different industries.

What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives?

Have a short sabbatical/career break – it really focuses the mind on what you should be doing!

What could you give a 30-minute presentation on with absolutely no preparation?

GDPR and basics of FCA CMC regulation.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Do what you love, not what others think you should be doing.

What do you wish you could tell yourself 10 years ago? What do you think you’ll want to tell your current self 10 years from now?

10 years ago I would have told myself to keep an open mind about where my career would take me as I thought I would be working in private practice of the whole of my career. 10 years from now I will probably still be saying keep an open mind!