Women in Finance – series of blogs, episode 14

Olivia Crease, Change Manager

In the fourteenth episode of our Women in Finance series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Olivia Crease, Change Manager at Foster Denovo. This episode reflects on Olivia’s impressive career journey and her experiences at Foster Denovo. Olivia also shares an inside view of her role and gives us a sneak peak of a project she is currently working on.

Olivia began by sharing how she found her way into the financial services industry:

“Getting into financial services happened naturally for me. I started in recruitment for a financial insurance agency. This gave me exposure to the different roles within financial services, and I became more interested in the industry itself. So, I moved into a Personal Executive role which allowed me to understand the sector from the inside.

As my career progressed, I moved into a complaint role at Barclays Wealth, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Despite the negative connotations of handling complaints, I loved the client-focused nature of the work. I realised I really enjoyed helping people, which led me to the Financial Ombudsman Service. There, I got to see the industry from a regulatory and compliance standpoint, and I eventually became a Complaints Manager – a role I held for around seven years.

My journey at Foster Denovo started when I joined as a Project and Technical Manager in the Projects team within Secondsight. I was brought in because of my experience in auto-enrolment pensions. Over five years, I worked my way up to Senior Project Manager and then Team Leader, where I managed a team of people. It was a brilliant experience, especially as I got to work with clients from a project management perspective – something I’d always wanted to do.

After that, I left the company to take a role in international benefits project management. It was a bigger department which gave me the chance to broaden my horizons and explore opportunities on a global scale. However, while I enjoyed the role, it wasn’t as challenging as I had hoped and I missed a fast-paced environment. I realised I thrive under pressure and at this larger company, I just didn’t feel that same urgency or drive.

That’s when the opportunity to return to Foster Denovo came up. This time, it was a role within the wider group as a Change Manager. I’m now responsible for managing the integration of new acquisitions, which is a key part of our growth strategy. I also oversee some of our new strategic initiatives like our exciting new project which involves developing a digital advice solution that will be coming to Foster Denovo soon.

One of my favourite aspects of my current role is the chance to work with a variety of people and teams across the entire business. I’ve been able to learn more about the Private Wealth process, which I didn’t have experience with before, and I love collaborating with different departments like finance and marketing. Sitting with someone in finance, who can do incredible things with spreadsheets, or working with the marketing team on website development, has been such a great learning experience. It’s given me the opportunity to understand how each part of the business works.

Another thing I love about my role is being part of the company’s growth and helping to push it forward. It’s exciting to know that I’m making a tangible difference, and that sense of accomplishment is a huge motivator for me.”

Olivia shares her opinion on entering the industry and her thoughts on the positive changes for women in finance:

“From the moment I started at Foster Denovo, I felt supported by every level – from line management, to colleagues across the company. The openness of the executive team has been a constant, even as we’ve grown from around 100 people to nearly four times that size. There’s always been a structure that makes it easy to connect with anyone at any level, and that support is key to feeling empowered to grow and progress.

Of course my journey hasn’t been without its challenges. At a previous company I did face barriers. When we moved offices from London to Nottingham, and I was expanding the complaints team, two male managers came in and began shifting the team dynamic to be more male-dominated. It was a difficult situation and at 23, it was a battle I didn’t feel I could win at the time. But moving to Foster Denovo was a breath of fresh air, those barriers simply didn’t exist here. It really shows how much progress depends not only on your resilience but also on the support system around you.

What I love about Foster Denovo is that the company encourages you to move wherever your interests lie. You can shadow anyone and explore different areas and no door is ever closed. That open door policy is what I believe truly helps people advance here.

I believe things have improved for women in finance. The more we see women in senior roles, the more natural it becomes. I don’t feel that gender divides are as prevalent anymore. There might still be pockets of inequality, but it’s definitely improving, and I think people are less willing to tolerate discriminatory behaviour now. Looking back, if someone had stood up to those two managers in my previous role, maybe I would have stayed, but today people are far less willing to accept that kind of behaviour.

My advice for anyone entering the financial industry is not to come in with preconceptions. The industry is so vast, and the role you start with might evolve into something entirely different. Keep an open mind because financial services can surprise you.

Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions and be curious. It’s hard to know where to begin sometimes, but LinkedIn has become one of the most powerful tools out there. There’s so much information available – everything from job posts to insights about different roles. It’s a great place to start exploring.”