Every journey begins with a single step - Jenghis Dewan

There are few challenges more daunting than moving to a new country, and even fewer when doing so at the age of ten. Jenghis Dewan, Credit Manager at high-end automotive finance provider JBR Capital, learned first-hand how one leap of faith has the potential to change the course of your life. Here, Jenghis tells us about his time at JBR Capital to date, how he got to where he is now, and his passion for looking out for others.

You’ve been at JBR Capital for over five years now. Tell us about how you discovered and joined the business?

“I can still remember getting off the bus and having no idea where to go for my interview! I’d heard about JBR Capital through a recruitment agency, and I basically interviewed with every team within the company to figure out where I’d fit in best. This was a great way to be introduced to everyone and showed that JBR Capital cares about what works for you as a person and wants to help you find the role that best suits you.

“I started in the pay-outs team before moving to client services, and these teams were the perfect environments to learn the business and all the processes. With my degrees in economics and risk, though, joining the credit team was always in the back of my mind.”

Now that you are part of the credit team, what does your job involve?

“We underwrite the credit applications from our customers, working with our other teams to gather all the paperwork and information we need to gain a complete understanding of the prospective client. This means carrying out all the due diligence to find evidence of their strong credit history and score, so we can ensure they get a fair loan that helps them on the way to owning their dream car.

“The number of applications we receive is growing, so our originations - the loans we sign off – are increasing. We’ve been hitting our target of loaning ￡20m per month, so now we’re focused on achieving ￡30m.

What have been your highlights since joining JBR Capital?

“Whenever you get a tricky or complicated deal over the line, that is a real highlight. And as each deal is different, it makes it more rewarding when your time and effort pay dividends.?

“Surprisingly, the pandemic offered us a chance to reassess how we worked, and I believe we came out of that far stronger. Our work/life balance is far better because of it.”

You’re a Wellness Champion at JBR Capital. What does this involve?

“I had friends who were really struggling during lockdown, and that made me realise how important it is to support one another. This was around the same time that the Wellness Champion programme at JBR Capital was launched.?

“As Wellness Champions, we set out an agenda of events to support the team, giving colleagues the important opportunity to step away from work for a short while, and making sure it does not become overwhelming. Events like World Mental Health Day, Smile Day, and, more recently, Diwali gave us a chance to switch off from work and get to know one another better. It helps us build relationships with our colleagues without having to think about work every single minute.”

And away from work, how do you like to switch off and unwind?

“I like playing sports at the weekend, going out for dinner, and seeing my friends. I really love travelling too, and I recently went to Florence, which was amazing.

“I have to travel to see my family who live back in Nepal, so I go and see them every Christmas. We do an annual holiday to the Maldives – a beautiful place we love to visit.

“When I look back at moving to the UK from Nepal when I was ten, I can now see how naive I was. I was excited to move and see a new country, without really thinking that there would be a new language and culture to learn, which was probably more daunting than I realised at the time. However, on reflection, it made me who I am today and taught me invaluable lessons on open-mindedness, and it’s great to see the same values reflected at JBR Capital as well.”

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