COMMENTARY: PROFILE
If you’ve got it,
‘use ıt’! Claire Green is Head of People at Railsbank, the London-headquartered banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform. As a former member of the England women’s rugby squad, Green shares her tips on embedding a culture of high performance – both on the pitch and when it comes to upping your game in the ultra-competitive fintech space
I have mixed feelings when looking back at 2020. It was a tough year for us all with COVID-19 and the challenges it presented, but also a landmark year for Railsbank. After acquiring Wirecard’s UK assets and raising $37million in new growth funding, we’re now busy expanding the company’s global footprint and further developing our products and services. Continuing to grow Railsbank is reliant on having the right team in place. That’s the core element for success. Joining Railsbank was an easy choice for me; it’s a pioneer within the growing fintech sector and indeed the wider financial services space, but it also believes strongly in nurturing a talented and diverse team that works together to become the very best. I helped to define the company’s customer IT proposition from the beginning, before moving into working
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more closely with the company’s people to establish a forward-looking ‘people department’ to support the rapid growth of the business. I’m today responsible for all elements of Railsbank’s people strategy, including HR, recruitment, onboarding, training, performance and wellbeing. My main focus is on helping people to settle in at Railsbank as naturally as I did; make the most of the opportunity Railsbank presents, and supporting career progression. For that, I draw on a lot of the lessons I learned throughout my rugby career. My hope is to have as much success with my teammates in business as I did with my teammates in sport. I started my rugby career while at the University of Greenwich, making it into the starting lineup in each of my three years, in the England Students team. During my final year, I joined Saracens RFC and was selected for more national honours by playing for England A. After graduating, I continued to pass through the England ranks and represented my country until 2005, gaining 35 caps, mostly in the second row, and playing at the 1998 World Cup finals. I also continued to play for Saracens, the team that Railsbank co-founders Nigel Verdon and Clive Mitchell support (though I’m sure this didn’t influence my hire!), and then Wasps, winning the National Cup and League at both clubs. My passion now lies in embedding and supporting a similar high-performance culture at Railsbank, one that celebrates diversity and inclusiveness as we look to succeed on the fast-moving fintech field.
Game-changing: Claire Green (centre) with fellow Greenwich University top-flight players Maxine Edwards MBE (left) and Claire Frost (right)
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