New Chief Client Officer at Hargreaves Lansdown: A Personal Journey

I couldn’t be more delighted to have joined Hargreaves Lansdown as Chief Client Officer. It’s a brilliant moment in the business, a fantastic British brand, 40 years of history, solid financial foundations, recently taken private with a big growth and transformation opportunity, in a market with lots of tailwinds, including supportive regulation to push a growth agenda for the economy. It’s a business large enough to make an impact and move markets, small enough to move fast and challenge things. But the real story of this opportunity is this picture. Me and my 2 boys (with Hannah taking the picture) outside our office last week. 4 HL clients that have relied on the business to get through the most turbulent period of our lives. What you don’t see are the things each of us wrestle with each day. For me the past 18 months of challenges, relocating from the US back to the UK, dealing with the fallout of my previous company, managing financial stress whilst finding the right job with the highest mortgage rates and inflation in 40 years, sick and aging parents that need full-time care, being a parent present for 2 under 2, and a lot of health complications for our family post birth. Without HL, and in our case similar financial management in the US, it would have broken me. Financial stress is the number one contributor to poor mental health. As a UK society, almost half of us don’t have enough savings to rely on in an emergency and 72% of us are under-financed to live a moderate retirement, with many not financially confident enough to know how we get there. On the surface HL looks like a wealth management business. But at its heart, it’s about helping people survive and thrive whatever life throws at us. We’re building a world class team, led by Richard Flint (backed by CVC Nordic Capital and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) ) with a mandate to make a difference. There are (rare) moments in your career when it feels like people and opportunity come together and magic is about to happen… I’d welcome any introductions to great thought leaders in the industry, this is my first time in this FS space, and will share more opportunities to join the team in the coming months. Separately, thank you to the many people that have helped me (and our family) get here the past couple years. Advice, support, going out of their way to encourage and help open doors. People who have believed in us. There are good people out there and I’m very grateful for them and this life journey. Note: the chicken is a tribute to Aardman another iconic Bristol business. But which children don’t love a giant chicken?