Our experts & partners

Philip King is the Senior Training Consultant at the Trust, leading a team dedicated to improving how organisations support vulnerable customers. He oversees all aspects of the training function—from strategy and programme design to delivery and quality assurance—ensuring that every solution meets the highest standards. During his 6 years at the Trust, the team has won multiple industry accolades for the quality and impact of its training. With extensive experience in financial services and a passion for creating meaningful change, Philip works closely with firms to enhance policies, processes, and staff capability, giving clients confidence that they are in expert hands.

Chris Fitch is the Trust’s Vulnerability Lead, and a Research Fellow at Bristol University’s Personal Finance Research Centre. Over the last 13 years, Chris has run a programme of research on vulnerability, financial difficulty, and financial services. This has involved research underpinning the design of the Debt and Mental Health Evidence Form, as well as the first ever UK study of the experience of frontline creditor staff when working with customers in vulnerable situations. In 2016, Chris was named in Credit Today’s top 100 list of influential people working in the creditor sector for the second time.

Colin Trend has a wealth of experience in the finance and debt sector; from private, public and voluntary sector roles spanning across thirty years. He has worked with the Money Advice Trust since 2007 as an independent consultant and currently fills their Lead Vulnerability Trainer brief, which includes co-facilitating the award winning UK Finance and Money Advice Trust Vulnerability and Consumer Duty academy.  He has helped co-author a number of articles over the years covering tools to identify and engage with vulnerable customers alongside more specialist subjects including data protection.

Caroline’s background has always been in customer service – and over the last 35 + years (with 20 of those at the Financial Ombudsman Service), she has significant experience in dispute resolution, senior operational leadership, consumer vulnerability and customer experience.

As well as holding a number of appointed and senior advisory roles, Caroline works directly with firms and organisations across the private and public sector. Her past and present experience enables her to bring her real-life, current, and very practical approach to her sessions, to share and spark conversation.

Caroline has worked with the Money Advice Trust since 2018. In addition to delivering vulnerability courses to a wide audience across different industries, she has a particular interest in personal resilience, and helping people to look after themselves when dealing with challenging situations.

Zoe Medlock is an expert in customer vulnerability strategy and implementation. With nearly 10 years’ experience working in the sector, before joining the Money Advice Trust team, Zoe was most recently leading the team responsible for developing and delivering Barclays’ vulnerability strategy.

Zoe has extensive experience of creating policies, standards and procedures which help to embed support for customer vulnerability in the processes and governance structures that count. She has developed and delivered bank-wide training and knowledge strategies for customer vulnerability. Zoe also has experience of supporting teams to create MI dashboards for the management of customer vulnerability risk.

Prior to working in the corporate sector, Zoe was the Financial Inclusion Policy Officer at Toynbee Hall where she developed significant insight on topics including: high-cost credit, the credit union sector and financial education.

Michael Ramone has spent over twenty years navigating the complex landscape of financial services and essential utilities, with a particular focus on supporting vulnerable consumers. His journey from debt collection through advisory roles to training and consultancy gives him an unusually complete picture of how the system works—and where it fails people who need it most.

Since establishing as a trainer and consultant in 2016, Michael has worked with around 100 regulated organisations, training over 7,000 professionals in vulnerability awareness, supervisor skills and Consumer Duty implementation. What sets his approach apart is how he bridges the gap between regulatory compliance and real-world impact.

Michael’s expertise covers the full spectrum: compliance frameworks, risk assessment, staff development, and service design. But his real strength lies in combining technical regulatory knowledge with lived experience insights. This dual perspective allows him to spot barriers that purely academic approaches often miss—the small details that can make the difference between a process that works on paper and one that actually serves people.

His training programmes create psychologically safe environments for both customers and staff, recognising that sustainable change requires everyone to feel secure enough to engage honestly. Through his ongoing work across finance, utilities, and ombudsman services, Michael continues pushing for systemic improvements in how vulnerable consumers are identified, understood, and genuinely supported.

Andy Langford is Chief Operating Officer for Cruse Bereavement Care, and has worked in the fields of homelessness, mental health, substance misuse, ageing and children for more than 20 years. Andy has been accredited with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) as a counsellor/psychotherapist for 12 years, and has practiced independently and as part of an agency. He also holds an MSc in Voluntary Sector Management, focusing on leadership, organisational culture and income generation. Andy has trained as a life coach and in cognitive behavioural therapy.

Andy has directly managed counselling services for a number of years, and has a particular interest in suicide prevention work and working with those bereaved through suicide. He has trained public, private and voluntary sector teams on how to support people in this context, as well as staff and volunteers on the receiving end of such material.

His recent work has involved major incident management and emergency response, having worked in the context of the London Bridge attack and the Grenfell Tower fire, and working with teams around change management and self-care.

David is a dynamic and accomplished executive with a distinguished 35-year career at Lloyds Banking Group, where he has held senior roles spanning customer servicing, sales & marketing, compliance, operational risk management, and auditing the Group’s international businesses.

In his most recent leadership position, David spearheaded the delivery of the Group’s strategy to enhance experiences and ensure fair outcomes for individuals in vulnerable circumstances. He collaborated with internal and external stakeholders to drive meaningful change, strengthening the Group’s vulnerability infrastructure and data landscape while pioneering practical solutions that reduce risks of harm for vulnerable customers.

David is a steadfast champion of inclusion, exemplified by his decade-long leadership of Lloyds’ LGBTQIA+ colleague network. Through this role, he has empowered colleagues to embrace their authentic selves at work, advised the business on inclusion strategy, and contributed to the broader UK community through charitable initiatives. His leadership in this space earned him recognition in 2024 as an INvolve Outstanding Executive Role Model and a Top LGBT Gamechanger by LGBTGreat.

Beyond the corporate sphere, David is deeply committed to social impact. He serves as Trustee and Deputy Chair of Root & Branch, a charity supporting individuals with moderate to severe mental health conditions; as Partnership Director for Pride Wide, advancing LGBTQIA+ rights and lives; and as a parish councillor, driving positive change in his local community.

Robert Bell is an FCA Compliance, UK GDPR expert. He is a law graduate and has worked in several financial services firms, all in compliance roles. Robert is co-author of guidance on behalf of the trust on ‘Vulnerability, GDPR and Disclosure’ and is author of A Practical Guide to the FCA’s Consumer Duty’.

One sentence: Robert is a compliance expert and co-author of guidance on behalf of the trust on ‘Vulnerability, GDPR and Disclosure’ and is author of A Practical Guide to the FCA’s Consumer Duty’.

Sean Liddell MHFA is an award winning, engaging, and motivational consultant very experienced in mental health first aid, neurodiversity, mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and coaching to provide sustained personal growth. Sean has worked in the mental wellbeing arena with corporate clients both nationally and internationally, NHS trusts, CCG’s as well as local authorities and other organisations for over 15 years having worked as an Associate Director for corporates such as HSBC, Lloyds, and Whitbread for 20 years previously. A natural motivator, Sean utilises his coaching skills and conversations to challenge and embed learning to effect positive behavioural change consistently getting excellent feedback.

Sean has co-founded a mental health and suicide prevention charity in North Wales, is a co facilitator for Andy’s Man Club, another mental health charity, and is accredited by MHFA England, Thrive Neurodiversity in the Workplace and The British Mindfulness Institute as well as the ILM for executive business coaching. He is a published author of ‘Thrive not just survive’, making stress work for you in leadership and life, helping people understand the complexities of modern day stress and how to make it work for them.

Sue brings a rare blend of frontline experience, strategic insight, and lived experience of vulnerability to her work as a freelance consultant, trainer, and researcher. She collaborates with a range of organisations on issues including customer vulnerability, financial inclusion, and gambling-related harm. She is a Trustee of the debt advice charity StepChange.

After studying Psychology at Oxford, Sue spent over a decade at Barclays in senior roles across operations, marketing, and communications. As DEI lead she focused on improving outcomes for customers living with disabilities and promoting financial inclusion – areas that continue to shape her practice today.

At Monzo, Sue worked directly with vulnerable customers, gaining valuable insight into the vital role of frontline customer service teams. This experience now informs her academic research, with her MSc thesis exploring the experiences of customer-facing teams who support people in vulnerable circumstances.

Sue has a deep understanding of gambling-related harm, shaped by hands-on experience and collaboration with specialist organisations. She understands the complex challenges that banks and other organisations face in supporting those affected by gambling and has developed and delivered impactful awareness training.

Outside of work, she enjoys travel, music, time with friends, being outdoors, and dreaming about life in a campervan – ideally with a dog or two along for the ride.

Robyn has been involved with the advice sector as a Specialist Debt Worker for over 30 years and is presently employed by a charity based in West Yorkshire. She has extensive experience of working with vulnerable customers via varying channels which include face-to-face, telephone and third parties. She supervises the work of others and is involved in Quality Assessment Audits, and Peer Reviews.

Robyn is a self-employed trainer and has worked for the Money Advice Trust since 2000. She has been involved in the design and delivery of training for both the commercial and voluntary sector. Additionally she has been involved in arranging bespoke debt training for organisations including the Institute of Money Advisers and StepChange Debt Charity.

The National Centre for Suicide Prevention Education and Training (NCSPET) is the UK’s leading provider of assured suicide prevention education, best known for its Suicide First Aid® (SFA) programmes. Established in 2011 as a not-for-profit social enterprise, NCSPET’s mission is to reduce suicides by empowering individuals, workplaces, and communities with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to have life-saving conversations.

Their training is evidence-based and internationally recognised, with independent evaluations describing Suicide First Aid® as a “gold standard in suicide prevention training.” All programmes are delivered by qualified tutors trained through the City & Guilds Associate Tutor Development Programme, ensuring consistent quality and credibility.

NCSPET adopts a trauma-informed, interactive approach, combining theory, practice, and real-world application to create transformative learning experiences. Their courses are suitable for a wide range of sectors—including health, criminal justice, education, housing, and community organisations—and can be delivered face-to-face or virtually. Over the years, NCSPET has played a pivotal role in raising awareness, reducing stigma, and equipping thousands of people to intervene effectively when someone is at risk of suicide.

The Trust has worked with NCSPET for a number of years to develop and deliver an essential services tailored Suicide First Aid course.

Nile HQ is a strategic design consultancy that helps organisations create inclusive, human-centred products and services. Their mission is to ensure that no one is left behind by the systems shaping our lives. Nile specialises in embedding inclusion by default, going beyond accessibility basics to design experiences that work for everyone.

Through their dedicated inclusive design practice and their group company, Dig Inclusion, Nile provides accessibility assessments, user testing, and inclusive design audits for leading organisations, including the NHS and major financial institutions. Their approach combines behavioural research, ethical AI, and service design to transform complex customer journeys into fair, accessible, and effective experiences.

Nile’s expertise spans inclusive design strategy, accessibility compliance, and digital experience optimisation, making them a trusted partner for regulated industries navigating new standards such as the FCA’s Consumer Duty. Their work has helped businesses embed inclusive practices at scale, ensuring that products and services are not only compliant but genuinely equitable and user-friendly.

The Trust has been working with Nile since 2025 to develop and deliver training and consultancy offerings for our clients.