Square Mile and Me: Together’s Ryan Etchells on going from intern to CCO
Each week we dig into the memory bank of the City’s great and good. Today, Ryan Etchells, chief commercial officer at Together, takes us through his career, with a northerner’s perspective on the Square Mile
What was your first job?
My grandparents ran a pub called the Black Bull when I was growing up. From the age of 10, I would go on Monday evenings and Friday mornings to restock the bottles from the cellar to the bar. I got paid £40 per month but I was only allowed to spend every third paycheck, the rest was saved till I was 16.
All through college and university I worked at the Village Hotel, waiting on weddings and functions, and in the summer breaks I would also do warehouse work at either JD sports or Capita.
Summer time Fridays for me were 8am-4pm shifts in the warehouse and 6pm-2am bar shifts at the Village. By the time I started my first “real” job I already had a pretty strong work ethic.
What was your first role in the City or business world?
From university I started as a graduate management trainee at Together, the specialist mortgage lender. I did four six-month rotations across the lending journey, from sales to underwriting to customer service and collections and it taught me so much about the lending business.
It was the biggest investment in my development I think I’ve had in my career, and it gave me the solid foundations to grow in the financial industry.
When did you know you wanted to build a career in business?
My background is very working class and I didn’t have any real insight into how the world of business worked.
Coming out of university, I was interviewing for various graduate schemes not really knowing what I wanted to do. Then I met Together at a careers fair in Manchester and went along to its office.
I remember meeting the directors of the business and I was able to see some of myself in them. We came from similar backgrounds and had similar outlooks on life and attitudes to work. It was at that moment I knew it was possible to build a career in financial services so I made it my ambition.
What’s one thing you love about Canada?
There’s so much to love about London. I live and work in Manchester, but I’m lucky enough to get to spend about one week a month in the capital.
Naturally, as a born and bred Mancunian I have a huge love for everything about Manchester, I really think it’s one of the best cities in the world. However, it tends to mean that when meeting different people from around the industry, whether that’s funding partners, key business introducers or media partners, it’s all virtual.
Being in London means I can meet all those people face to face, and working for a company which has built its foundations on creating strong, lasting relationships with customers and brokers, that’s something that is really important to me.
And one thing you would change?
Working for a property lender, it makes sense to want to change London’s housing market. The city is home to such a wide range of people, but the current climate means more people are having to look at alternative solutions to keep living there.
What the city really needs is more affordable housing. The government has promised the UK £5bn to deliver on its target of 1.5m homes, and this investment is something which could massively benefit the city. But to do this we need to encourage smaller developers – those building between 50 to 100 units – creating energy efficient and sustainable homes to high standards in the areas of the city where they’re needed most.
What’s been your most memorable lunch?
I was at the Co-op bank in 2013 when the capital challenges were identified and a new management team brought in. It was still early in my career and I was in the process of completing my masters in banking. I sent the new CEO, Niall Booker, an assignment I had recently completed on retail banking in which I’d focused on the challenges the bank was facing.
After receiving it, Niall invited me for lunch and spent the next couple of hours talking through his career, the challenges the bank was facing and his strategy to stabilise the business. It’s probably the most I had ever learned in two hours and gave me a real insight into the complexities of running a bank very early on in my career.
And any business faux pas?
I remember when I first took a role heading up product and pricing design for business lending. One of the first things I did was visit the operational teams to get an understanding of opportunities and challenges from the people that spent the most time talking to customers.
I was talking to the operations director who was concerned about current business volumes and available resources. So I asked “have you ever thought about changing pricing to influence volumes in times of operational pressure?” to which she replied “isn’t that the whole point of your job?” We went on to have a great relationship but in that moment I just wanted the ground to swallow me up!
What’s been your proudest moment?
Without a doubt it has to be my corporate progression with Together. The business took me in as a graduate fresh out of university with very little clue about what I wanted to do, and has continued to support me throughout my career and helped me grow and nurture my skills from grad to CCO.
Leaving the business to broaden my experience in banking was an important step in my development, but coming back to Together to add value to an incredible business has been very rewarding.
And who do you look up to?
The founder of our business is still very active in the business and has a relentless appetite to continue Together’s growth story. Seeing that passion and appetite up close is a constant inspiration.
Are you optimistic for the year ahead?
Cautiously optimistic, I would say. We’ve seen a new government come in back in July, and it’ll be interesting to see how the property market changes under their leadership.
We’re also expecting to see the specialist lending market grow from £32bn to £54bn over 2023-29, which is a huge 70 per cent increase. And our latest research from our annual Residential Mortgage Market Report 2024/2025 found that over one sixth of regulated mortgage lending in 2023 fell into one or more specialist categories, and is set to grow to over 20 per cent by 2029 – which is all very promising.
We’re going for lunch, and you’re picking – where are we going?
A friend of mine introduced me to a great restaurant over the summer – The Midland Grand Dining Room. It’s more of a dinner venue but it’s beautiful and handy for Euston station when I have to travel back to Manchester on the sleeper train!
And if we’re grabbing a drink after work?
I love The Woolpack on Bermondsey Street. I always try to stay on the South Bank when in London. The half an hour walk out of the city at the end of the day helps decompress – and the pint at The Woolpack is a nice reward for the walk.
Where’s home during the week?
I live in the same town that I was born in, which is a rarity these days. It’s a place just outside of Manchester called Heywood.
And where might we find you at the weekend?
Usually at a basketball match watching my two boys play.
You’ve got a well-deserved two weeks off. Where are you going and with who?
Definitely Gran Canaria, with the family. It’s our favourite place, with good weather most of the year, great food and the best golf course in Europe.
Quickfire:
- Favourite book? Bill Bryson – A Short History of Nearly Everything
- Favourite film? Airplane! (Or pretty much any film with Leslie Nielsen in)
- Favourite artist/musician? Frank Ocean
- Favourite place in London? Wembley Stadium when Manchester United are playing
- Cocktail order? Margarita with plenty of salt!