Darren Caswell Head of Customer Experience Centre, UK Shareholder Services Introduction and what your role is at EQ
I joined EQ in May 2025 as Head of Customer Experience Centre for UK Shareholder Services. I’m responsible for the day-to-day service delivery across all channels (email, webchat and voice) for our teams based out of the UK and India. I’m also leading the drive to transform our business, at a very exciting time for us, as we deliver our unified communications platform Amazon Connect, SmartAgent user interface and new workforce management, quality monitoring and analytics platform, Calabrio.
What office are you located at?
I’m based in our Birmingham office and really enjoy the vibe you get from sitting in a large contact centre. Everyone has been very welcoming, very accommodating and very engaging which make the office a brilliant place to work. Prior to joining EQ I was 100% home-based so it’s really refreshing to be back in the buzz.
What’s happened in your career up to this point?
I started out as a Data Analyst at the now-defunct car manufacturer MG Rover Group and progressed into roles in Quality Engineering and Customer / Dealer Support. This is what gave me my love of numbers and spreadsheets and introduced me to the techniques we would probably now label as “lean” and “Operational Excellence”, techniques rooted in manufacturing. My Customer Service experience led me to Capita, where I spent almost 20 years in a variety of roles, all contact centre based, across a range of clients. At Capita I’ve had responsibility for operational delivery, continuous improvement, service delivery and change management amongst other things. During my time at Capita I led the contact centre operation for local government, which was undergoing it’s own Amazon transformation, leading nicely into how I switched to EQ.
What do you like about EQ?
So far I’d have to say my EQ colleagues and this seems to be a common theme amongst the people I speak to everyday. Everyone has been very supportive in terms of getting me up to speed, engaged and on-board with the journey ahead of us.
What's your biggest EQ achievement?
It’s quite early to say but I am very excited about what lies ahead. Six months from now, if you ask me again, I’m certain it will be around the transformation achieved to date and the plan we have in place to build for future growth.
What are you looking forward to in the future at EQ?
The roadmap for where our new technology can lead us for sure. Having spent some time with our internal teams and our development partners recently there is huge opportunity for us to leverage some powerful functionality and to explore the possibilities that AI could bring to the table.
Do you have a fun fact to share?
I’m a keen cyclist and was very proud to complete “Chase The Sun” earlier in June, cycling 205 miles from East Coast to West Coast on the longest (and hottest) day of the year.
A big thank you to Darren for sharing his thoughts with us.