Regional Account Manager, South East England
Paul has been with Bluestone Leasing since 2017. As our account manager for the south-east of England (including Kent and the surrounding areas), he spends his days getting to know new and existing customers and partners, trying to gain a full understanding of their needs and challenges and exploring how finance solutions can help to grow their business.
“My mission is to make finance solutions, which can appear complex, as simple as I can. It is important to remove the jargon from finance and break it down into steps that are easy to understand. My aim is always to leave my clients wiser than when I found them.”
The early days
Paul grew up in Banbury near Oxford where he spent his free time playing as much sport as he could, whether that was football or swinging a plastic golf club in the back garden. He recalls a childhood ambition of wanting to be a millionaire and fond memories of reading Shakespeare plays aloud with his classmates, but his biggest influence is his entrepreneurial mother.
“My mum was a very clever, compassionate and self-motivated woman. She started a business and achieved great things in an age when women were only really meant to look after the kids. She also managed to do a great job raising me and my brother, and I really admire her for that.”
At the age of 16, Paul left school for an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering at college while working for a German crane manufacturer before completing a degree in mechanical engineering at Oxford Polytechnic.
“It was an incredibly difficult degree. I was working very long weeks but after four years of hard work, I graduated and secured my first full-time job with BP Oil.”
The world of work
Paul’s career began in the head office of BP Oil before he moved to working in distribution all over the country and then to a project in Hamble where they stored the crude oil extracted from nearby Poole Bay. There he was leading a diverse team of more than 20 people including secretaries, finance, PR, canteen staff, security and IT.
“The next stage of my career with BP would have involved moving overseas, but due to personal commitments I made the decision to move to London and started working in recruitment, specialising in the procurement sector. That’s where I eventually met my fiancée. After interviewing her for a position we decided to get a drink together at a nearby pub. We hit it off, and a while later I invited her to a ball on HMS Belfast.”
Paul’s next role was selling photocopiers and document management systems, but while socialising with colleagues who were dealing with design and build projects, he discovered a new career path.
“I thought it looked like an interesting field of work, and that’s when I decided to enter the construction, architecture, and design and build industry.”
Bluestone and the future
With extensive experience and expertise in project management, sales, and the design and build industry, as well as the finance solutions that made those projects possible, Paul was a perfect fit for Bluestone Leasing.
“When I met with the Bluestone Leasing team I was immediately put at ease by their friendly and professional approach. The best part of my job is the variety – I can secure funding of any and all asset types so I get to meet lots of people and learn about different sectors, and I am given the freedom to work in my own way.”
Always trustworthy and naturally compassionate, Paul is keen to help as many businesses as possible to maximise their potential.
“My approach to my clients and my career is the same as my approach to life in general. I try to stay upbeat and make the best of what I have. I think that rather than getting bogged down in problems or overwhelmed by challenges, we need to stay focused on what we need to do to move forward.”
Bluestone Leasing Blog 