Meet Keith White

We sat down with Keith White, Director and office lead for our Leeds and Manchester offices, to learn more about him and his plans for our Northern UK offices.

Keith White

Director

Tell us about your journey to becoming the Northern UK lead for Credera.

Having led my first ecommerce program designing and launching buyepson.co.uk for Epson UK in 1999, I took the leap into consulting and joined IBM BCS in 2000. There, I continued to lead some very interesting and challenging ecommerce programs in the energy, automotive, and public sector fields. I later went on to join PA Consulting in 2004 and then Serco Consulting in 2011.

Through these experiences, I developed a real interest in the customer experience (CX) angle. This was fuelled by a number of projects tackling the overlap between the online customer journey and the customer journey in the voice channel, as well as how to address and reduce failure demand. I’d now describe this as my shift into the recognition of the importance of experience design (XD) and where I started to learn and develop in customer journey analysis and design.

Post-Serco, I spent two years establishing a digital and CX consulting practice for Communisis - a marketing outsourcing company. In 2018, I took a couple of years out of consulting to work as Head of Digital for Leeds Building Society. I joined Credera in September 2020 and it has been a great experience so far.

What excites you most about the future of the Leeds and Manchester offices?

The North of the UK is a real powerhouse in digital. There are many great organisations who are genuinely wanting to make a difference to their customers and their businesses through digital and the delivery of a great customer experience. There is also a real collaborative culture with the digital economy in the North, and an energy that can be experienced through events such as Leeds Digital Festival and Digital City Festival (Manchester).

I think the team we have and are developing across the two Northern offices give us a real platform for exciting growth. The exciting thing is that we have the opportunity to keep shaping that future for ourselves.

What are your passions outside of work?

Outside of work, I’m usually found doing one of four things:

•  Playing guitar: I first started learning when I was 12 years old and have played in a few bands over the years. Being in a professional studio is always fun! My preferred style is blues-rock, although these days I am most often found playing acoustic at church on a Sunday (but with a touch of rockiness whenever I can get away with it!).

•  Trying to exercise and stay fit: I play a bit of tennis and play in a club league at David Lloyd in North Leeds, though often giving a few years in age and fitness away to my opponents. It’s still a good way to test fitness and get some exercise. In the last six months, I have also started cycling again and will try to get an hour’s ride in after a day’s work at home whenever I can.

•  Watching rugby league: During the summer, watching rugby league is near the top of the list. I’m a Warrington fan and have been supporting ‘the Wires’ since I was a child. I try to attend a few games during the season and those that I can’t go to, I will make a point of organising my time to watch.

Teaching at my church: I’m a licensed lay minister for the Church of England and also a tutor in ethics and biblical studies for the Leeds School of Ministry. These activities keep me on my toes and add a different dimension to the week.