Tell us about a typical day in your current role?
In a word – varied! My role is leadership, and I currently have two main focuses: SJP’s Corporate Real Estate team and its Senior Leadership team.
The former looks after our 30 offices spread across the UK, ROI and Asia. Most days, something unplanned or unexpected will happen somewhere. Sometimes it’s good, but mostly it’s unwelcome news. In the last few weeks alone, we’ve dealt with issues arising from flooding, protests against Israel, extreme office temperatures and misplaced artwork. We are in more control of our strategic planning and execution work, which often involves working closely with our key suppliers, including members of the Real Estate team at Burges Salmon.
The latter is a small group of leaders charged with shaping the strategic direction of the business. We are just over a year into a comprehensive business transformation programme, and it’s fascinating working with, and learning from, talented individuals both within SJP and at top-tier consulting businesses. We are a large company in the wealth management sector, and conducting reviews, carrying out analysis and implementing change at this scale, and at a FTSE 100 business, is potentially a once-in-a-career experience and a real test of leadership. There is much to do over the next few years, but one change for me this coming Spring is taking on the directorship of our Responsible Business team and our Charitable Foundation team, both of which will sit alongside Corporate Real Estate. I’m excited by the expanded opportunity this presents and look forward to leading these teams. I’m in awe of the charity team, which is now one of the UK’s largest corporate foundations, having raised and granted over £130m to UK charities.
What has been the proudest moment in your career so far?
I realised early on that I wanted my career to be about collecting experiences and making contacts rather than starting with, and retiring from, the same profession. I’ve been lucky to work in Real Estate, where many different specialisms collaborate. Sitting in meetings listening to others, I’ve often thought, “I wonder what it’s like to do what you do.” And if you subscribe to the notion of psychometric profiling, there is definitely a slightly nomadic philomath in there. To date, I’ve worked as a chartered surveyor, a project manager, a Real Estate lawyer and a business leader. What the future holds, I don’t know, but I’m very proud of the experiences I’ve collected and the contacts I’ve made so far.
If you could offer one piece of advice to your 21-year-old self, what would it be?
Join the military. I considered applying after university but put too much weight on some poor advice at the time and ultimately missed the opportunity. When I look back at the figurative book of my career, there will definitely be a chapter missing about a short commission as a Royal Marines Officer. I guess that’s two bits of advice: join the military and consider thoroughly the advice you receive.
In what ways did your time at Burges Salmon influence your career?
Before the training contract started, I spent three years as part of Burges Salmon’s Business Services team. This gave me great insight into the business of running law firms – how they work, strategic objectives, the importance of clients and regulation. I was fortunate to work with the then Managing Partner, Peter Morris, and I would certainly include him in the ‘who has inspired/helped me’ category, as well as manyothers in the team who are still there doing great work for Burges Salmon today.
The training contract itself was very valuable, exposing me to both the differences and connections between various areas of legal expertise – it helps you understand that ‘decision X’ may stack up from the point of view of one area of law, but you might need to consider it from another area too. Lawyers, as specialists, need to be great collaborators.
In terms of my time as part of the Real Estate team, this was game-changing. I was able to place commercial experience gained from my surveying and project management days onto the legal framework within which transactional and contentious Real Estate work needs to take place. This really rounded my skills, meaning I could make decisions with greater consideration and provide more impactful advice. The Partners, lawyers and PAs I worked alongside in the Real Estate team were amazing – helping me broaden my knowledge, develop new skills and providing challenge and stretch, as well as support when needed. It was also (and I suspect remains) the coolest team in Burges Salmon!
There is no doubt my Burges Salmon chapter has been hugely influential – the simplest way to sum that up is by saying I wouldn’t be doing what I do now without it.
Who has particularly inspired you or helped you get to where you are today?
I almost feel obliged to start naming every Partner in the Burges Salmon Real Estate team! Because I’ve worked alongside many people over the years in different sectors with different skills and from different backgrounds, I have a huge pool of inspiration to draw upon. The surveyors who taught me to think commercially and do deals, the project manager who helped me master prioritisation via his catchphrase “it’s interesting but not important” and the lawyers who helped me see round corners, together with the importance of precision. I’m lucky to be working currently with a hugely experienced C-suite comprising leaders who’ve come from some of the biggest companies in the financial services sector, and this is inspiring, educational and energising. In terms of help, however, most important of all is my wife; ever tolerant of my decisions and a constant support that allows me to keep adding chapters to the book.
If you had not followed a career in law, what would you like to have done instead?
Well, I’ve done a few things already! But if I were stepping away from the corporate world altogether, there are so many interesting jobs out there – where do you start? I pride myself on communication and connecting with people regardless of who they are, where they are from or what is happening in their lives. In business, these skills help prevent issues from arising, improve team dynamics and increase efficiency. I’ve wondered before how they could be used in completely different circumstances – education, expedition leadership or perhaps something as valuable as crisis negotiations. I am, however, very aware I probably lack every other skill needed for roles such as these, and also, time is marching on! So instead, I think I would opt to don the shorts and t-shirt and run a little wood-oven pizzeria somewhere in Provence, surrounded by great produce, wine and company in a beautiful part of the world – that would be a lovely last chapter on which to end the book!