Bank appoints new head of customer fulfilment

Unity Trust Bank has announced the appointment of Laura Willis-Shaw as head of Customer Fulfilment - a new department created to enhance the bank’s customer-driven proposition.

Laura (pictured) will lead a team of specialists focussed on delivering positive banking experiences and ensuring that the voice of the customer continues to be at the heart of everything it does.

Having enjoyed many senior customer-focused roles during her 22-year career in banking, Laura joined Unity in 2020 as head of its UK-based contact centre.

Laura said: “I was excited to join Unity because the role combined my two biggest passions – people and customers. It was a dream job!

“I knew my calling was in customer services after working in a fruit shop as a teenager and realising the importance of getting to know your customers and delivering excellent personal service.

“I am passionate about the experience customers have because as a customer myself of other businesses, I know what good looks like – and what it doesn’t look like.

“It’s about putting yourself in the shoes of a customer and constantly thinking about how they feel, what they want and what improvements are needed to make it even better for them.

“The most important thing for me is to have the right people in place with the right level of skills and SME expertise; people who are passionate about delivering exceptional customer service and protecting our customers is key to Unity delivering excellence. If you have that, the rest will follow, and we certainly have that at Unity Trust Bank.”

Laura was also attracted to Unity because of its ethical values and its commitment to creating a positive working environment for staff; in 2024 the bank was named one of the Sunday Times’ Best Places To Work.

“My wife and I have a two-year-old daughter and are about to welcome our second daughter into the world and I feel very fortunate to work for an organisation that supports working mums and supports a healthy work life balance,” said Laura. “It means I can be 100 per cent present in my role at work, and 100 per cent present as a great mum at home.”

The new Customer Fulfilment team will oversee high-risk areas such as financial crime, high-value payments, onboarding and new account opening where due diligence is paramount.

Laura said: “We strive to help our customers as much as possible so it’s crucial that we know who they are and how they bank so that we can better protect them.

“Take financial crime for example. Safety and financial security are a top priority and supporting customers to strengthen their own organisational controls is where Unity plays a key role.

“New regulations come into effect on October 7 around Authorised Push Payment Fraud (APP) – this is where criminals make people believe payments are genuine – so we’ll be providing our customers with lots of safety information about making payments and setting up accounts as part of our commitment to protecting them from fraud.”

Alex Rice, chief commercial officer at Unity Trust Bank, said: “With her passion and determination to deliver the best outcomes possible for our customers and her extensive experience in frontline roles, I’m delighted that Laura will head up our new Customer Fulfilment department.

“Creating this new specialist team is testament to Unity’s continued commitment to put our customers at the forefront of everything we do.”

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