Flex and the City - Great leadership in financial services

I loved interviewing Michael Fox - he gave me real goosebumps. From discussing his humble beginnings to his unwavering passion for encouraging new talent to join the financial services industry, Michael's story is truly remarkable.  Michael discusses the importance of social mobility and highlights key elements of great leadership: effective communication, authenticity, having a clear vision,...

Claire Marshall is an agent of change driven by doing the right thing. From beginnings in the North of England and "meandering" her way to the role of Chief Internal Auditor for abrdn, Claire shares her views on harnessing the collective, the power of diversity of thought and the need for resilience (huge positives in that word meandering but you need to listen to the podcast) 😀. Claire...

Sarah Sinclair is baking a new future for the financial services industry. 🎂 I met Sarah less than a month ago and it was quickly evident we shared alignment and passion on many subjects. As a result, I invited her to record this wonderful interview. Sarah stands for putting people at the heart of the financial services industry. As a leader in technology, she says that a symbiosis between AI and...

I'm grateful to know Janusz Lorenc, and every time I meet him, I learn something. It was such a joy to interview him. Janusz is the epitome of humility and sage wisdom who talked to me about the importance of values, understanding human beings, and the power that “flow” can bring to the financial services industry. Janusz knows the importance of connections, perspectives, making time for deci...

Rob Williams is someone I met as a 21-year-old starting out in the asset management industry. In this great podcast, Rob talks about the critical importance of values-based leadership and changing the language in asset management to better connect with consumers. His company, Royal London Asset Management, was originally formed in 1861. Driven by the purpose of serving the community, the values th...

Catherine Battershill  is a profoundly passionate leader who talks about the need to build trust in asset management with the public. As an ex-marketeer, Catherine believes more can be done to re-write the script when it comes to how asset management markets itself. From true board diversity,  how great leaders drive culture, direction, and motivation, they bring leadership skills and the power of...

Peter Brown cares. He cares about community, collaboration, and the importance of contacts (relationships). He is deeply passionate about harnessing the collective and how financial services can really act as a force for good in the world. He shares wonderful stories about how the power of incrementalism, leadership, and a "one team" approach can harness the power of sustainable performa...

Steven Van Tuijl is a Leader. Human, Humble and Honest. A man born in the flatlands of the Netherlands, he shares his passion for taking inspiration, energy and perspective from the Swiss Alps.  He shares stories of the great Ray Dalio as well as the incredible ability Michael Schumacher had to harness the collective within the team to ensure success.  Steven shares his belief that the future of f...

Kavitha Ramachandran is a legend in the Luxembourg financial services industry. In this podcast, Kavitha shares her story of growing up in Chennai,  coming to Europe and joining the financial services industry. Kavitha embodies a growth mindset. She is deeply curious, authentic, open-minded and prepared to step out of her comfort zone.  Courageous and daring are the words that come to mind. Listen...

Micaela Forelli is the first Italian to be interviewed on Flex & the City.  As with many Italian greats, she is innovative, kind and visionary. 🇮🇹 Micaela talks about the critical importance of continuous innovation in financial services, plus how some of the softer leadership skills such as caring, being inclusive, getting curious, and maintaining a growth mindset create the most effective le...

For anyone who has worked in the financial services industry in Luxembourg, you will undoubtedly have heard of, worked for or met the inimitable Chris Edge.  Chris shared the importance of doing the right thing and supporting others without fear. Chris talks about the need to take opportunities as they come up and for leaders to embody an "entrepreneurial" spirit and energy. He is the ep...

"Don't allow the regulatory imperative to extinguish agency and the power of people " said Noel Fessey, CEO of European Fund Administration, with enthusiasm and sapient wisdom. I loved interviewing Noel who brings a wealth of knowledge from the military and from history to the financial services industry. He speaks with passion and authority about the way companies can create sustai...

Campbell Fleming is a legend in the financial services industry. He is CEO of AssetCo plc and Chairman of The Big Exchange. Anyone who has met Campbell will be touched by the way he makes them feel. Human. From a humble background down under to barrister to financial services game changer. Humility remains firmly at Campbell's heart.❤️ Campbell mentions the words client and client satisfactio...

This week on Flex and the City I interview Jurgen Vanhoenacker, Executive Director of Sales, Marketing and Wealth Structures at Lombard International Assurance. Have you heard about AC/DC and the way in which they managed sustainable performance?  Meet Financial Services' very own lead guitarist and celebrated hard rocker Jurgen Vanhoenacker.  There are lots of parallels: Jurgen is charismati...

This week on Flex and the City I talk with Johnny Black, Head of Commercial & Strategy, Advisor Sector, abrdn  Jonny Black is far from Black - he's colourful, sparkly, and energetic which is just what the industry needs. Not afraid to challenge and call things out. Fresh air.  Jonny celebrates difference - and the power that difference (we even talked about his dad's dislike of Deliv...

I've heard over the years from a number of sources that Christophe Girondel is a respected leader.  Even at the beginning of the podcast recording, Christophe creates a climate of trust. He stands for trust and authenticity. We talked about the Nordic influence on his leadership which I've coined "Hygge" Leadership but we also talked about the powerful influence of remote trave...

This week on Flex and the City we interviewed Denise Thomas who is the COO of abrdn.  Authentic isn’t quite a big enough word to describe Denise Thomas. I prefer the acronym WYSIWYG or Down to Earth; Real; Fun.  I would work for Denise. I connected with Denise because she’s genuinely interested in people. She is curious about people. Deeply curious. As you may have heard and I have said before cur...

This week on Flex and the City we interviewed Kunle Olafare who is the CEO of SK Financial. Kunle is part of the new movement of leaders who lead with heart and humanity – In this podcast, he reveals his own personal 5 Ps for achieving growth and success.

This week on Flex and the City I interviewed Karl Harder, the co-founder & Managing Director of Abundance a Financial Services game changer and lifelong environmentalist (before Greta was even born!!!) Karl is a deeply human individual and his lack of ego, profound humility, and straightforward simplicity provokes you into reflecting on the power of money and the purpose behind its accumulatio...

This week on Flex and the City I interviewed Laurie Spengler, CEO, Impact Investor and Field Builder. A G7 Task Force Member amongst many other philanthropic endeavours who helps make our world a better place. Laurie cares.  Laurie is abundant.  Laurie really understand the value of deep relationships. Laurie articulates with conviction and drive  the importance of being in service to people and p...

Pips Bunce is one of the most genuine, humble, kind, perceptive, and passionate leaders I have met. Pips was in touch with my team and they all said she made them feel truly special and valued. ❤️ This is a rare quality. True Leadership.  In addition to the day job at Credit Suisse, Pips puts an enormous amount of energy and passion into connecting and educating our community at large. Pips is bri...

This week on Flex and the City I had the very great pleasure to interview the loving, vocal, and driven Tom Baigrie who is the Chair of LifeSearch👇  Tom epitomizes love for his family, for his customers and for his industry. He gives sound advice to any financial services entrepreneur when he says “your purpose should not be on just making money, it has to about the value you bring and what you d...

This week on Flex and the City, we have the privilege to speak to the very kind, encouraging, inspiring Alan Chalmers, who leaves an incredible impression on people whenever he interacts with them. Alan, is the former publisher of Funds Europe and well known in the Financial Services industry with an incredible depth of knowledge about the industry. No wonder Alan is also a formidable entertainer...

This week on Flex and the City, we have the privilege to speak to John Beck.   John, is Senior Vice President and Director of Global Fixed Income for Franklin Templeton London, and is our first fixed income expert, who leverages his tremendous knowledge of historical economic events combined with his own forward looking views, in a way that really brings to life his perspectives on how financial s...

If you work in financial services and you care for the clients the industry supports and the people it employs you have to listen to this podcast.  If you lead in the industry and believe in ethics and morality at your core you have to listen to this podcast. I know you are busy and even a punchy podcast needs a moment. Take that moment. 🙏 Andy Agathangelou is the founder of Transparency Task For...