Very few people spend 40-years of their life working for the same company. Fewer still become CEO having first entered as a teenage mailroom worker.
But that is exactly what Patrick Heath-Lay, the boss of Britain’s biggest pension provider, did.
The 16-year-old who nervously walked in on August 5, 1985, is now the CEO of People’s Partnership, overseeing a £38billion pension scheme serving seven million members across the UK.
Under his leadership, the organisation has expanded from a small construction-industry fund into a nationwide provider used by one in five UK employers.
It now operates 104,000 employer schemes, adds £4.5billion a year in assets and expects to exceed £60billion by 2030 — with surplus profits returned to members rather than shareholders.
Speaking to GB News, Heath-Lay explained exactly how he ended up in the position he is in today – and admitted his purpose and human-driven approach has deeply personal roots.
His father, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in his thirties, devoted himself to community service despite his condition and managed a Boys’ Brigade company serving 120 youngsters while battling illness.
“He was very purpose-led, and he had this remarkable way of just getting people to do things,” Mr Heath-Lay told The People’s Channel.
“I think there’s a big element of him that’s in me.”
Patrick Heath-Lay has worked for 40 years at the same company, after starting in the mailroom
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PEOPLE’S PENSION
The man at the helm of People’s Partnership left school with plenty of enthusiasm, but without qualifications or direction, having struggled in the education system.
He explained of his school days: “I didn’t enjoy or ever fully committed to it, and went under the radar a little bit.”
It was his mother, working at a local job centre, who spotted the vacancy that would change his life.
“Here’s this job, why don’t you go along for an interview?” he recalled her suggesting, nudging her directionless son towards B&CE, the organisation that would later become the People’s Partnership he leads today.
Mr Heath-Lay admits his first step into employment wasn’t driven by ambition. Yet it quickly revealed abilities school had never uncovered.
“It was never my mindset that I was going to become a CEO,” he said.
“What I discovered in the world of work is that I enjoyed it much more – it was much more adult and I could achieve a lot more.
“I realised that I could add value. I’m a problem-solver, that’s probably my biggest asset.”
A career move within the business into internal audit proved pivotal.
With no educational credentials to lean on, Mr Heath-Lay began accountancy training from scratch.
“I was doing basic bookkeeping courses to start with, let alone professional accountancy exams, because of where I started,” he said.
“That was one of the first biggest shifts that kind of woke me up to the fact I needed to do something for myself.”
The trepidation of pushing beyond familiar territory became a defining lesson.
“I felt very uncomfortable, but I think it’s one of my biggest learnings – you have to get comfortable at being uncomfortable if you want to progress.”
Unlike many executives who climb the ladder by switching companies, Mr Heath-Lay stayed loyal to the same organisation. He stated: “I fell in love with the purpose of the business.”
He spotted an underserved market, millions of low-paid and transient workers excluded from saving, with other providers targeting customers with cash.
Patrick Heath-Lay had to learn accountancy from scratch, having left school without any formal qualifications
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THE PENSION’S REGULATOR
When Mr Heath-Lay assumed leadership in 2012, his first act was to strip the company’s existing values from the walls.
“I didn’t recognise them, they didn’t resonate with me, they were a marketing exercise – words on a wall that were laminated and not lived,” he recalled.
Eight hollow phrases were replaced with three guiding principles: Keeping promises; Creating simplicity; and Understanding people.
These became the foundation for transforming a construction-focused provider into a nationwide scheme.
“It’s like a life belt,” he explained.
“Cling on to those three values, whatever we’re doing, and we will be fine.”
The expansion demanded balancing commercial discipline with social mission.
Mr Heath-Lay successfully broadened the original mission of supporting underserved workers into a vision for all British employees needing pension provision.
The profit-to-member structure ensures every pound of surplus benefits participants.
“The purpose of the business has always been not for profit or ‘profit to member’,” he emphasised, noting the company has returned £100million to members.
But he believes discipline remains essential: “You have to make money. If you don’t generate the profits, you can’t do the things you know your members need you to do.”
And after having climbed to the very top after taking his chance, his advice for others looking to succeed was simple: “Your best ideas happen anyway. Writing them down is really, really important.
“You’ve got to be willing to put yourself in a place where you are comfortable being uncomfortable”.
