Another well deserved tribute to Richard Duvall
I was delighted to speak at the Credit Card Awards dinner last week at the Grosvenor Hotel, London - as the industry honoured our late CEO, Richard Duvall, as Industry Personality of the Year.
His wife Krys was there to receive the award from Sandra Lawrence, CEO of Equifax. This was highly appropriate as Equifax have been important supporters of Zopa as they were the first credit bureau to support Zopa with data, without which we would never have launched.
Some pictures below and also some words on Richards contribution to the industry:
Richard Duvall, a co-founder and the inspiration behind the creation of Egg, sadly died, aged just 44, in October 2006.
Richard was a rare visionary, innovator and entrepreneur. Bill Gates described him as “one of the most dynamic people he had ever met”. And while his greatest gift was the hand of friendship and ongoing inspiration that he offered to all he came across, he also did much to transform financial services.
At Egg, Richard was the force behind the first of a new wave of financial services brands to really create from the customer for the customer. In doing so he transformed permanently both the credit card and the savings markets in the UK, returning billions of pounds to the consumer – as well as pioneering the charge for the provision of consumer-centric financial services online. Egg was the first:
o Instant access savings account offering the same great rate from £1
o The first, online only credit card
o The first, credit card offering consumers 0/0 balance transfers
o The first bank to provide its customers with an online fraud guarantee
o The first provider of online aggregation services in the UK
o And I would argue the first financial services brand to really identify with customers in the modern era
And Richard did not stop at Egg. He then co-founded and was CEO of Zopa, the first marketplace where people meet to lend and borrow money. Zopa cuts out the banks so people get a better financial deal as well as the thrill of helping each other. Zopa has been called the eBay of money – and has already been copied in the US and Europe. Zopa, and its copycats, will further transform financial services for the benefit of consumers
Richard was an abundance of brilliance. A searing intellect - but never intellectually arrogant. Human, natural, unassuming, no aires, never pompous. An abundance of integrity, irrepressible energy, commitment, creativity, possibility, vision, inspiration and above all incredible fun. For those who knew him, who can forget that cheeky toothy grin and mischievous sense of humour ….. A full on Richard was irresistible.
He saw unfulfilled brilliance in everyone and helped people raise their game. He gently encouraged, challenged, provoked, steered and guided people to help them be more brilliant than they as individuals thought possible. He gave people the space, inspiration, confidence, and courage to be free, to act without fear, so that they could fully express their own talents and individuality to the full
In my view, Richard’s legacy to financial services was his relentless pursuit of giving customers a better deal and experience of financial services. I hope that we can collectively and individually carry his banner forward.