The awards for excellence season is always an interesting time for Euromoney’s journalists. As we consider the relevant merits of different banks and their diverse businesses, there is an opportunity to get to the real heart of what makes a bank tick. To do that, you need to see the leader.
Typically, the most successful firms or business groups are a reflection of the men or women who sit at the top of them. They set the tone for the whole organization. Their staff look to them for direction. They can create an entire culture within the firm – of excellence, of entrepreneurship, of doing the best thing for the client, of doing the best thing for the firm – and often a combination of all four.
As Euromoney’s editors considered one of the closest-fought battles for best global investment bank we can remember, we put the following question to the three people who run the firms that were leading contenders for the award: name three deals that you did over the past year that sum up the capabilities of your firm and distinguish it from your rivals. We weren’t necessarily looking for the most high profile deals – rather something that in particular caught the CEO’s attention.