How did you get into banking?
I fell into it rather than going in with my eyes wide open with a specific plan for where I wanted to go. I started in sales at NatWest. I wasn’t there five minutes before I was invited to go on a six-month secondment to Coutts, which was introducing a financial planning service. I’ve always been interested in relationships and people – I find their stories fascinating – which is probably why I have never left the world of banking.
Why did you join Weatherbys?
It felt right. Weatherbys puts clients first and provides a superior service. I’m one of those people who would never ask a client to invest £1 in anything I wouldn’t be prepared to invest £1 of my own in either. My role allows me to focus on building client relationships, not spending hours of my week in committee meetings. That’s not what I want at this stage of my career. I enjoy clients and client activity, making the complicated simple.
What does your current role involve?
I am looking to attract high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals to Weatherbys who have a UK and Channel Islands nexus and who need tax, cross-border, legal and fiduciary services. Using my network, built up over more than two decades, I aim to start conversations with prospective clients who are seeking a level of service they don’t get if they are just a number at other banks. I will be speaking specifically to corporate executives with generous incomes, deferred compensation and assets across different jurisdictions, but with a specific UK need. Weatherbys has such a strong narrative. There is a terrific opportunity for us to grow our presence in this space – and I’m looking forward to helping shape that positioning.
How would you describe the culture at Weatherbys?
Remarkable. Everyone wants to help. I recently attended a prospective client meeting with a banker, just to observe. The meeting went very well, and afterwards the banker asked me whether I would be willing to take on that particular client. My response was, ‘I’m happy to help, but it’s your client.’ They reassured me, saying, ‘That’s how we operate.’ For me, that’s an example of a culture that ensures the right people have the right conversations with the right people at the right time. It’s about understanding both strengths and weaknesses. In my short time here, I can see it’s the people setting the standards and creating a collaborative culture.
What was the defining moment of your career?
Joining Abacus in 2005. It was a real wow moment. They [Abacus] were responsible for the deferred compensation scheme for all of the executives at pretty much all of the major banks, international investment banks in the UK. After Abacus was acquired by the Royal Bank of Canada, I spent the next 15 years building RBC’s corporate executive business. With its financial backing, we became a boutique business with a balance sheet. It was phenomenally successful and, in fact, we became stronger during and in the immediate aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, while other banks struggled.
What would you say makes a good banker?
The ability to listen. I find people often speak in meetings because they’ve got something to say and feel they need to say it. Listen to what’s not being said. Be audacious and be prepared to challenge. By doing so, you will build a relationship that goes both ways, rather than being subservient or an order-taker. A good banker should seek relationships with multiple touchpoints, they should actively involve the wider team in the client journey, ensuring clients benefit from the full breadth of expertise and services available across the business. There are trillions of pounds of wealth to be passed down the generations in the coming decades. I suspect younger generations will not want to deal with a person of a certain generation who has been advising the patriarch / matriarch, but they probably will with younger bankers and assistants. You need to think smart and understand the situation. It’s not a magic formula, but I have been managing client relationships this way for more than 20 years, so I’d like to think I am doing something right!
How do you turn off and relax?
I’ll probably be on an aeroplane, reading, or even looking at somebody else’s financial situation, trying to help them manage it!