Ulster Bank chairman rolls with the punches

If Sir George Quigley had to choose just one person from history that he most closely identifies with, then he would have no hesitation choosing Abraham Lincoln.

On the surface, there appears to be little to link the current chairman of Ulster Bank with the 16th president of the US but, according to Sir George, the connection is all in the detail.

President Lincoln's attention to detail and his ability to see both sides in any situation are the traits that Sir George believes he shares with the man who is credited with saving the Union and eradicating slavery. "Lincoln could really communicate ideas, he was a prime example of someone who developed a response in anticipation of a situation and then used his skills to manage that situation.

"He had a love of words and he liked language, and was a strong believer in what can be achieved by language - a belief I also share," says Sir George.

He points to the successful outcome of Ulster Bank's recent "industrial turbulence" as one example of how communication can help solve problems.

Staff at Ulster Bank, now owned by Royal Bank of Scotland, called in their trade union representatives earlier this year when management unveiled its Horizon programme.

This is a new initiative intended to reposition Ulster Bank by making it more customer-focused, according to the company.

But employees were worried that the new initiative would result in sweeping changes and possible job losses - a concern that took the bank several months to address.

"Not surprisingly, it created a lot of controversy within Ulster Bank which is understandable and there was a fair degree of industrial relations turbulence," Sir George says. "My only disappointment during that period was not that there was the debate, and not that people were concerned, but what disappointed me was that we had not been able to find a better way of having that debate within the Ulster Bank family." He believes the experience illustrates a major issue for all companies, not just banks in Northern Ireland and the Republic.

"The challenge for all industry is how do you manage change so that change is almost a constant and that you never reach the point where you say, `gosh we are turning a new leaf and this is a big deal'," he says.

He is in a good position to reflect on the many changes he has witnessed since becoming Ulster Bank chairman in 1989.

Sir George should have retired 15 months previously but when Royal Bank of Scotland acquired Ulster Bank and its former parent, National Westminster (NatWest), he was asked to stay on.

"In one sense, the last two year period has been among the most challenging. First we had the months of the DIRT inquiry, which meant a tremendous amount of personal briefing and an appearance before the Public Accounts Committee.

"I personally was very pleased with the outcome of that as far as Ulster Bank was concerned. I believe we emerged from that relatively untarnished and with our reputation untarnished and, in some ways, I think we enhanced our reputation," Sir George says. Almost immediately after the DIRT inquiry came the takeover bid by Bank of Scotland for NatWest before the Royal Bank of Scotland came into the picture.

It was, he says, one of the greatest periods of uncertainty for the bank during his chairmanship of the institution.

"One of the options for us was not to be sold off as a trade sale but to float as a company on the stock market.

"During that period a lot of time was spent very constructively inside the bank. We asked ourselves if we were pushed out into the wider world on our own what would we do? "We worked out a strategy for change and, when the Royal Bank took over, we were able to put on their desk our programme for change and say how does this look to you as the new owners and are you prepared to back it - and they were," he adds. He says on reflection that if someone had told him when he first joined Ulster Bank in 1989 that he would be chairman for more than 12 years he would never have believed them.

"I joined the bank from the Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland - a job that I enjoyed immensely. I never imagined that in the year 2001 I would still be chairman of Ulster Bank. But I think any job keeps you on your toes and challenged if the job itself is changing all the time," Sir George says. He claims he is still enthusiastic about the role today.

"When I first came into banking the range of products was much more limiting. You hadn't the multiplicity of delivery channels that you have at the moment. Essentially it was just branches and technology hadn't the place in the industry that it has now.

"It is now a technologydriven industry and that is one of the things we must remember. We must also remember that it must be a customerdriven industry and the two things are not incompatible," Sir George adds.

He says the one consistent factor through the years is that the bank has had a very successful model.

"I have been lucky enough to have been involved with the bank at a time when we have steadily increased our profitability - it has multiplied by four times during my period as chairman, which is a great tribute to staff and management of the bank," says Sir George.

"Last year we made a record £192 million sterling [€313 million] pre-tax profit - up 20 per cent on the previous year." He believes the bank's success is one of the key reasons why it has issues communicating the need for a new programme of change.

"The most difficult time to achieve change is when you are successful because people say: `why do we have to change'?

"In a way, change is far easier when you are clinging on by your fingertips to the edge of a cliff and everyone can see that if you don't change you are going to fall to the bottom," he says.

Sir George adds: "You are at your most vulnerable in any organisation when you are most successful.

"I think the secret of business success is constantly saying: `I am highly successful in what I am doing, the model is working well but is it going to sustain me robustly for the next 10, 15, 20 years'?

"You have got to get ahead of that potential weakening of position - grab it now and get ahead of the game."

He has played an increasingly important ambassadorial role in recent years as chairman of Ulster Bank, championing the concept of an all-island economy and promoting the benefits of cross-border trade.

It is a subject close to his heart and one he intends to pursue when he departs from the bank.

Sir George is also chairman of Bombardier Aerospace in Belfast, the North's largest employer, and chairman of the Economic & Social Research Institute in Dublin, both of which will continue to afford him a high-profile role in Northern Ireland and the Republic.

He believes his greatest contribution to Ulster Bank has been his willingness to embrace change.

"A historian has to be open to the evidence - I have not been blindfolded to possibilities.

"I think four years of historical research taught me the importance of detail, of getting facts right and of always properly briefing myself.

"I am a great believer in doing the job you are doing and to heck with tomorrow," he adds.