Yahoo Finance My first boss: Andrew James, Citigroup’s EMEA head of wealth at work
The people who helped shape business leaders
Andrew James is Citigroup’s (C) Europe, Middle East and Africa head of Wealth at Work. The Citi Global Wealth business provides solutions for partners and executives of law firms, asset managers, professional services and enterprises.
London-based James originally started as a banker in the ultra-high net worth team in 2006 before moving to Asia.
Simon Rivett-Carnac brought a human side to the table where it was easy to get caught up in the corporate world. It meant that I had a huge amount of loyalty to him and wanted to succeed because of the trust he put in me.
Simon, who I worked with at investment firm Sarasin in my mid twenties, was the first person who had a meaningful impact on my career. I was training as an investment manager at the time, and truth be told I would have been an average one.
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But I had enjoyed the relationship side of the business and Simon gave me an opportunity to build on that — it’s what I’ve done for the rest of my career since that point.
Simon was head of institutional sales and the first person who saw that I was in the wrong slot and had a certain skill set that wasn’t being properly utilised. He spent time getting to know people and understanding them.
At the time I wasn’t in that side of the business and he gave me the freedom to pursue options that I had. “If we cut you in half, it would say salesman,” he once told me.
He was also highly approachable at a time where as a junior you stayed in your box. And the key thing I learned there was no matter how high you go in an organisation, you don’t have all the answers. It is quite the reverse.
Listening to other people’s ideas is just incredibly important and recognising people’s talents and what makes them tick is an integral part of any manager or leader.
Further, you shouldn’t be surrounding yourself with like minded souls and spirits. That’s effectively saying that the way you do things is the right way to do it, and the way you think is the right way to think.
From a traditional family, Simon, who sadly died in 2019, had a very human side and wasn’t afraid to show that. Now, I make sure I am accessible with the people I work with.
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Some view leadership as having to be in complete control of everything. You have to set a strategy, an understanding of where to take the business but you also have to empower people to make decisions, to have their own leeway and for them to make mistakes. That’s what Simon also taught me.
Leadership is also about encouraging people to be their own person. There’s a lot of talk today about ‘bringing yourself to work’. A lot of people come in with a cloak on. If people can bring their own personal characters, it makes for a more interesting business going forwards.
The industry and companies go through peaks and troughs and the general atmosphere in an office can dip very quickly. A true leader for me is one who can really stand up and guide people through tough times and have an understanding of what it’s like to be in their shoes.
At the time, Sarasin was a relatively small operation to what it is today and the comparison between working for a small and big firm is an interesting one. It’s important to bring that small firm mentality to a bigger outfit in terms of empowerment and entrepreneurialism.
The difference with the business I am in now and the ultra high net worth side where I have always been is that effectively you are providing solutions to the firms and their partners.
It’s not a sales-led process and that automatically changes the dynamic of the relationship. One of the things I have noticed is the level of engagement that we have as a business within the law firm group.
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We have a Leaders Council during which we host 50 of the top people within the world’s legal sector for over two days, where they listen to how we view the space, challenges and key issues. I have had meetings with senior partners with household law firms who've said that it is the one event they will always go to. That’s quite a recognition of how we operate.
Our business structure allows us to focus our time on clients and delivering solutions. As a leader, I believe being transparent with your team is vitally important, while we continue to grow our business in a sector with enormous opportunity.
I’d like to think that Simon would be happy today that he gave me my first opportunity. He was simply a very kind person who just wanted the best for everyone.
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