“Focus on the problem, not the solution.” That’s the mantra Ian Tudor, Senior Market Intelligence Analyst at SBS, has carried through more than 30 years in asset finance, an industry that helps businesses access expensive equipment without large upfront investment, spreading costs over time while the assets generate revenue. In this interview, he talks about how the industry has changed since the mid-90s, why AI is becoming central to risk management, and (perhaps unexpectedly) what cooking curries has taught him about building good products.
You’ve been in the industry since the mid-90s. Looking back, what has changed the most since you started?
When I started, asset finance was much simpler: largely manual, paper-based, and built on personal relationships. Reporting was basic and most of the work ran on spreadsheets. What has changed most is the amount of data and connectivity available. Today, lenders expect real-time visibility into their portfolios, deeper risk insights, and highly automated processes. Customers no longer want static reports; they want dashboards, analytics, and information that helps them make decisions quickly.
The fundamentals haven’t moved: businesses still need funding to acquire equipment, and lenders still need to manage risk. But add AI, new vehicle technologies, changing regulations, and economic uncertainty to the mix, and it’s a far more dynamic industry than the one I joined.
Today, as Senior Market Intelligence Analyst, how do you help SBS turn a market signal into something a product team actually builds?
For SBS Asset Finance, my role is to understand where the market is heading and translate that into product decisions. That means spending time with customers, tracking industry trends, and identifying the challenges lenders are likely to face next. It usually starts with a trend or a customer request, but we don’t take that at face value. We talk to multiple customers, look at what the wider market is doing, and figure out whether it’s a genuine broader need or a one-off ask. The key is to focus on the problem, not the solution: customers often tell you what they think they need, but you have to dig deeper to find the real challenge underneath it.
A good example is risk management. With rising interest rates and ongoing economic uncertainty, we’re seeing more dealer defaults across the market, so lenders are looking for better ways to spot issues early. By analysing the large volumes of data inside our platform, we can help customers identify risk patterns earlier and shift from reactive reviews to proactive monitoring. Once we’ve defined the real problem, we work with the product team to explore solutions, test them with customers through proofs of concept, and refine before moving into delivery. It’s collaborative, but the goal never changes: make sure we’re solving the right problem before we start building.
How do you make the same market insight meaningful to very different customers and stakeholders?
It depends entirely on who you’re talking to: their role, their market, their region. What matters to a lender funding agricultural equipment can be completely different from what matters to an automotive lender. The same goes for geography: a trend that’s significant in the UK might have little impact in the US. That’s why we don’t think of the roadmap as a single message. Internally, it’s one strategy, but externally it’s tailored to the audience. The goal is always to focus on what matters most to the people you’re talking to.
What’s something people often misunderstand about your role as a Senior Market Intelligence Analyst?
The biggest misconception is that after 30 years, you eventually know all the answers. The reality is the opposite: asset finance keeps evolving, and every customer, market, and business model is different. There’s always something new to learn.
What people don’t see is how much time goes into understanding a problem before looking for a solution. There’s often pressure to respond quickly, but the real value comes from stepping back, asking the right questions, and getting to the root cause. That’s also why mentoring matters to me. Experience shouldn’t stay with a few individuals ; helping someone learn to think through a problem is more valuable than just giving them the answer.
What’s the most important lesson from your career?
Don’t take things personally. Early in my career, I remember a customer getting very frustrated during a project, and I took that criticism to heart. Later, I realized it wasn’t about me, it was about the pressure they were under. Over the years, I’ve learned that when people are stressed, they’re often reacting to the situation, not to the person in front of them. Stay calm, focus on finding the right solution, and empathy will take you a long way.
Outside of work, what do you enjoy doing ? And is any of it surprisingly useful in your day job?
Surprisingly, cooking is the one that translates best to work. Whether you’re making a meal or building a product, everything starts with the right ingredients. If you begin with poor ingredients, or don’t understand what you’re trying to create, the end result won’t be great no matter how much effort you put in. The same applies at work: start with the wrong requirements or misunderstand the problem, and you’re unlikely to build something that delivers real value. Cooking has also taught me patience. You can’t rush a good dish, and you can’t rush expertise.
