Gary Crawford
Currently the Project Manager at Shawbrook Bank, Gary has worked in Financial Service for 23 years. Starting as a teller at Royal Bank of Scotland he worked across various roles management and project roles there before taking on further project management roles across the public sector.
With most of his work and home life being in the west coast of Scotland he has an understanding of the financial environment many Scotwest Members live under and the challenges it brings. He looks forward to using his many years of financial experience, from dealing directly with customers and communities to working in strategic development in a regulated environment to bring the Board a fresh and dynamic perspective on the environment the credit union operates in.
Why did you want to serve as a Director?
It has been a long held ambition of mine to secure a Non Executive Director role and specifically within a credit union as I wanted to help make a difference in my local community. The more I explored this, the more Scotwest was the best fit in terms of their purpose and ambitions and my own values.
The future for members still looks challenging due to the economic landscape we are in but also exciting due to a number of opportunities available to Scotwest from the UK wide Credit Union Growth Plan and more locally the opportunities that are Scotwest specific, from the introduction of AI, Open Banking and just making processes easier and friction free for our members.
I feel I can make a real difference in helping Scotwest realise their ambitions.
What do you hope to gain from taking up this position?
It will be a mutually beneficial relationship and that really excites me. After successfully completing the Scotwest Director Training Academy, I already have a much greater understanding of the role itself, the importance that Scotwest has across the local communities it serves and the key governance requirements of the board.
I have 25 years’ experience across Public & Private sector roles, as well as a lot of lived experience, which I can bring to help guide Scotwest though their self-titled period of consolidation and back into a future of sustainable growth
In 10 words or fewer, why would you recommend joining Scotwest’s Board?
Come and make a difference to someone’s financial wellbeing.