Women in Wealth Awards 2016

Women in Wealth Awards 2016 18 Best ATM Services Commercial Director - UK Acketts Group Limited are experts in all aspects of ATM installation and security. Group Commercial Director Andrea Wainwright talks us through the services the firm offers and how she helps drive it to success by constantly striving for excellence. Positioned within a niche industry, Acketts Group Limited are one of the longest established ATM service providers remaining and boast a complete end to end service solution for ATM installation work. Through its core project management expertise, Acketts have dealt with many sizeable programmes throughout the UK supporting many of the major F.I’s and IADs, (Independent ATM Deployers). Andrea, who has worked for the company for 14 years, talks us through the extensive knowledge she has obtained through working various roles in the firm over the years. To apply successful leadership and management, she believes that senior staff should also have a broad level of knowledge and understanding of the business throughout, inspired by the variety of roles and projects she has undertaken during her time with Acketts. “My background and introduction to the company starting as company bookkeeper and after a few years I was promoted to lead the accounts function. With AAT training, I had always enjoyed management accounting, as this had allowed me to understand the overall business. Significant commercial and strategic planning was essential, whilst navigation through the economic downturn of 2009 and whilst these were challenging times for many, Acketts Group Ltd remained strong. “By default I began assisting the Managing Director during this period, supporting her across a variety of projects and areas, and I was then appointed Group Commercial Director in 2013. “Currently my role is significantly broader, but key responsibilities include; obtaining work under competitive tender and RFPs; reviewing commercial pricing; supporting the operations team in ensuring service delivery; strategic planning and growth strategies; review market trends and subsequent growth strategies; presentation and public speaking; as WW160031 Company: Acketts Group Limited Name: Andrea Wainwright Web Address: www.ackettsgroup.com well as consultancy.” Operating across so many roles and undertaking a wide range of projects highlights Andrea’s drive and determination to succeed, which has proven useful when working in a highly male dominated industry. “The industry I work in is significantly male populated. There may be some apprehension by women to strive for success, in a fear that opportunities may be limited. Based on my own experience, this fear is the biggest obstacle. I hope that my own success in this awards programme will provide confidence to anyone that would like to consider a financial role. “My advice to anyone, male or female, looking to emulate my success would be to challenge and believe in themselves. Anything is possible if you are willing to put the time and effort in. Do not feel discouraged if you are a minority.” Moving forward, Acketts have a number of exciting projects in the pipeline. For Andrea the future looks equally bright, as she talks us through her core focus. “Looking ahead, I am focusing heavily on service delivery, because I believe in ensuring our clients have a service they can be proud of. Whilst significant time has been focussed on building the framework, I now want to dedicate my time to our clients, and I look forward to the opportunities this will bring. “Acketts Group Ltd as a firm has seen year on year growth and our market share has increased significantly. Our strong balance sheet has supported investment to broaden our service provision and double our staffing levels, and this has allowed us to take on many larger projects which will allow us to grow our market share further and provide us with increased exposure.”