Alex Edmans, is a professor of finance at the London Business school.  Alex has a PhD from MIT as a Fulbright Scholar, and was previously a tenured professor at Wharton and an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. Alex has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, testified in the UK Parliament, and given the TED talk “What to Trust in a Post-Truth World” and the TEDx talk “The Social Responsibility of Business” with a combined 2.4 million views.

Carina Diamond is a wealth management leader with particular experience in growing and building businesses. Late last year, she founded Stella Secunda Partners, a consulting firm that helps financial services locate and retain next generation talent and guide business owners through succession planning. She is a motivational speaker and coach, as well as the founder of Diversitas, a national education program at The University of Akron designed to expand diversity in wealth management.

We are thrilled to be back with Series 2 of the 2024 Fiftyfaces Podcast, which will marry insights from private wealth with insights on strategy, leadership and the investment landscape. Inter-dsiplinary learning is the way of the future, so we are excited to weave together diverse aspects of our investment discipline here. Series 2 is rich with insights around private wealth, 

As we get ready to celebrate International Women’s Day, we are thrilled to have snatched some time with the legendary Laura Langton of J M Finn, who in January completed the World’s Toughest Row with her team The Ace of Blades.  The team rowed over 3000 miles across the Atlantic in 47 days and their journey was brilliantly captured by their social media team on Linked IN and their Ace of Blades profile page. https://www.linkedin.com/company/team-ace-of-blades/ The team raised over £80,000 for charity.

Catherine Beard is SVP of Alternatives Consulting at Callan, the investment consultants. She has had a long career in investment consulting and allocation with a particular focus on private credit and is based in Chicago. 

Bruno Kaiser is CFO at Smile CDR Incl, a digital health company based in Toronto. He previously spent over 20 years in a series of investment banking leadership roles with a particular focus on the Metals and Mining Sector. We were classmates at INSEAD from 1999-2000.   

We have brought you this story to showcase an extraordinary physical challenge – the world’s toughest row – that one of our own – investment manager Laura Langton – is about to embark upon. We examine what motivates a person to take on something so extreme and so obviously strenuous and physically taxing. We look at the preparation and mental journey that is involved, and ask what it teaches her and how she brings these learnings into the workplace.

Laura Langton an investment manager at JM Finn. She was previously involved in developing partnerships and revenue streams in financial services. Our conversation starts with her very sporty upbringing in the idyllic Cotswolds. Her mother was a jockey and Laura found rowing had its own rich history within her family.

Ben Phillips is Head of Asset Management Global Advisory Services at Broadridge Financial Solutions, based in New York, He has had a long background in consulting at firms such as Casey, Quirk, Deloitte and Cerulli Associates and has focused for much of his career on the dynamics and evolution of the asset management industry. I asked Ben here to let us look over his shoulder into his crystal ball to chart the future course of the asset management industry.