Meet Our Team – Peter Bould Interview

Peter Bould is the Head Of Media & Public Affairs at True Potential. His career experience has included working in broadcasting at the BBC, and several years in PR, Communications and Marketing.

Here he explains what his job involves, his hopes for the future, and what makes True Potential so special.

How did you get started in the industry?

I’ve worked with financial services companies for almost 10 years, ranging from accountancy firms, pensions and mortgage companies and of course True Potential since 2012.

In terms of communications, I started out as a broadcaster before working in political communications and later managing two PR and Marketing agencies. 

Tell us about your area of expertise?

I head up True Potential’s media and public affairs department, so I am responsible for liaising with the press and telling our story. Financial Services is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the UK so there is a constant stream of polices and issues where True Potential has an interest and experience that we can contribute. I spend a lot of time in Westminster and Fleet Street making sure that our voice is heard. Over the last 12 months, we have joined the Government’s Pensions Dashboard project, some of our proposals for an enhanced ISA were incorporated into the Lifetime ISA. As one of the fastest growing companies in the UK, we also serve on the Department for Business’s Scale Up Taskforce.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

It’s fast-paced and we are involved in a lot of projects. Dealing with the media and Government always means working to someone else’s deadline but it’s rewarding.

I also enjoy managing the Saving Gap campaign that I was part of designing back in 2012. It brings all of our efforts and what we stand for together. Sometimes it can be tricky to summarise what True Potential does because we are a big firm involved in a lot of different things. In the end though, it’s all about closing the Savings Gap.

What makes the company special?

True Potential is very entrepreneurial so we can make quick decisions and act on them. That means the developers can turn ideas into reality very quickly, giving us a real cutting edge. It’s also exciting to be part of an agile firm that is not caught up in processes and bureaucracy. It really helps my job and means we’re always moving on to the next thing, adding the next chapter to our story.

What are the most important things to consider for first time investors?

First and foremost, have a goal. Everyone knows it’s important to have some rainy-day money set aside but beyond that, what are you saving for? Without a goal, it’s too tempting to switch saving into spending, build up debts and then use that rainy-day cash to bail yourself out.

So with a goal, you know where you’re going and that keep you motivated to carry on.

Little and often really does work. You don’t need to save in huge amounts, a few pounds regularly will build up a sizeable amount. But be patient, investing is a marathon not a sprint. 

What are you most excited about in regard to the future of the company?

True Potential has always done great things but there was a time when few people knew about us. We are a big company and our reputation has grown with us.

We are now regularly called upon by the Government, the regulator and the media to contribute to projects and give our views. That is because we are well-regarded and people can see that we genuinely help the public to help themselves.

I’m excited to see how far we can go.

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