Amanda White, Finance Director
We were delighted that Amanda accepted our invitation to step into the spotlight because, while her role is perhaps not as visible as our core business of selling service hours, parts and supporting vehicle sales, it is safe to say WG Davies could not function without the support of her team and her highly specialist knowledge.
Today Amanda holds the title of Finance Director but her time with WG Davies started 19 years ago in 2004 as an accountant. She told us how she found herself working in accounts, “I did not really know what I wanted to do for work but I started as a junior in an accountancy firm straight from school. They funded my accountancy exams, which I did with evening classes – it was a good way to do it because I was working and getting paid, plus I got the practical experience from working while studying for the exams.”
With her professional qualifications done and some good experience under her belt, Amanda realised that there might be more fulfilling environments to work within than with an accountancy firm. “I was not enjoying having to account for every minute of my time and I felt like I was just a number to them, so when a friend who worked for WG Davies told me they were looking for someone with my experience and told me it was a lovely company to work for, I applied for the job. It’s the best decision I’ve made, I absolutely love working here.”
We were curious to understand how it is different to working in an accountancy firm, “From the moment I arrived you could tell it was really family oriented,” Amanda explained. “With the work that I do, I feel much more involved in the business and I have been treated like an individual from day one. If you treat people well, you will get the best out of them and Roger and Debbie really do look after the WG Davies family. Of course, Debbie is lovely, she cannot do enough for you and I quickly formed a bond with her as Rachel is the same age as my daughter and as they both did dancing as a hobby – we had lots in common. For many years we shared the stresses of getting costumes sorted, mastering hairstyles and make up for the numerous festivals and shows that were involved.
Today Amanda is responsible for managing the accounts team, which is nothing short of a family within the WG Davies family. She admits to having no knowledge of HGV vehicles but still feels close to the central business functions, “We’re all involved with everything that’s going on,” she explained, “we’ve got close interaction with both the service and parts departments here in Swansea and I get to see Sarah, Gareth and Alun when we get together for the managers monthly meetings. It is a really a strong management team that we have in place at the moment, we all work well together and most of us have been working for the company for a number of years now. It is testament to just how good the company is to work for that we don’t have a high level of staff turnover.
The key responsibilities for Amanda and her team include daily control of the cash flow, payroll and preparing the management accounts, which give an insight into the financial performance of the business, as well as preparing any budgets or forecasts that are needed for any reason. One of the key areas of influence for Amanda over the past few years has been the work she has done with Roger to secure funding for the purchase of Cardiff and investment that is so visible at WG Davies. “Everyone at WG Davies will be aware that the investment in the business over the past few years has been massive. The most visible spend has been on the workshops at all three sites and in particular the upgrades at Swansea, which we had to do to meet MAN’s standards. Then we decided to put the extension on the end of that as it wasn’t big enough. If we hadn’t done all of that we wouldn’t be in the place we are now because we wouldn’t be able to cope with the workload that we’ve got.”
Amanda has also helped budget for the new computer system, which went live in November. “There is a lot for everyone to learn, alongside still doing the day job. I have seen the team really pulling together and working hard to get things up and running – it’s been a very busy period. The new system will enable the company to operate more efficiently and bring all the processes up to date with the technology that is now available – it truly is an investment in our future.”
(L) Chloe & Dan (R) Jamie, Rhiannon, Erin and Ava
Amanda lives just 10 minutes from the Swansea depot and it is lucky she is so close because outside of work, time with her family is a high priority. “I have been married to Steve for 30 years and we have two children; Jamie who is 29 and is a Radiographer and Chloe who is 25 and is an Optometrist.” Amanda must be the most glamourous grandmother in Wales following the birth of her son’s twins, who keep her and Steve very busy. “My husband was in the police force. He retired during Covid. My son should’ve got married at the time but they postponed the wedding until 2023 and decided to have a baby in the meantime... then it turned out it was twins! They were two in June and I don’t think they’ve had a full night sleep yet!”
“It’s lucky Steve is retired,” Amanda laughs “He is now filling his time with child care and when he’s not doing that he’s out walking our daughter’s dog. Steve is really good with the twins, their personalities are starting to come out now, they are funny and really lovely – we absolutely adore looking after them.” And if that was not enough, Chloe got engaged and is getting married in 2025, so they have all the planning to do for that, with Amanda particularly looking forward to going dress shopping after Christmas.
Nevertheless, Amanda and her husband still do find time for an active social life, “We’ve got a great group of friends, seven couples that we’ve been close to for years and all our children have grown up together. There are 15 in total between us, so children’s parties are always an occasion to get together. We also have an annual couples break abroad, this year we went to Cala d’Or, Mallorca.” Closer to home, the girls have days out to go to see shows and concerts, “In November we are off to Bristol to see Pretty Woman and we have our tickets booked for Take That next year.”
Amanda has grown with WG Davies and today her team are central to everything the company does. It is a full-time role with far reaching responsibilities for everything from payroll, to the investment in tools and buildings, but she still finds time and energy for both family and friends. Thank you Amanda for stepping into the spotlight.