“It’s a miracle I survived”: one manager’s journey from crisis to Chartered success

“My motto is: people before paper,” says David Tazzini-Lloyd CMgr FCMI. “Obviously, processes are important, but people are always worth more.”

David, our Chartered Manager of the Week, has followed a diverse career path, but helping people has been a common thread. After spending 11 years at Royal Mail, first as a postman and then managing a sorting office, he decided to use his experience in managing finances to move into the banking sector. He joined Lloyds Banking Group in 2018 and now works as a specialist customer advisor providing expert guidance to victim-survivors of domestic and economic abuse and helping them regain financial independence. 

David has also worked as a self-employed counsellor, a manager with the Salvation Army and a volunteer treasurer with a church charity. His role at Lloyds allows him to put his counselling skills to good use. 

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“Economic abuse is often a by-product of domestic abuse,” he explains. “It’s about listening to customers and working out bespoke solutions, which may involve splitting joint accounts, dealing with debt and ultimately setting them free from the effects of the abuse.” 

Learning when you’re “not academic”

The Covid-19 pandemic proved pivotal to David’s career development, although not in the way he expected. After becoming seriously ill with the virus, he was placed on a ventilator for 12 days and spent a total of 43 days in hospital, during which time he also contracted sepsis. “It’s nothing short of a miracle that I survived,” he says.