Peter "Tony" Guernsey, president of Wilmington Trust FSB New York, has been named Private Asset Management's 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Guernsey, who built private banking businesses at both JP Morgan and UBS, will be honored at PAM's fifth annual High-Net-Worth Awards dinner on September 19^th at Manhattan's Essex House (see complete list of nominees below). During his 34-year run in private banking, Guernsey has built a reputation on starting a business from scratch and seeing it through to success--during a career that began in 1972 as one of the first two graduates of JP Morgan's "personal banking" management training program. He built out JP Morgan's national presence, and was then recruited to jump-start UBS' initial private banking presence in the U.S. in 1988. "I like to climb mountains," Guernsey said. "I enjoy the challenge of starting new businesses, and if we're lucky enough to get to the top of the mountain, I like to turn around and do it again."

Over his 10-year career at UBS, Guernsey stepped in as the only U.S. employee and grew the private bank to 150 executives with a solid U.S. presence before being recruited to run Wilmington's first New York office in 1998. "I started by overlooking two floors of complete carpet at UBS," he said, adding that he began recruiting former JP Morgan colleagues. Wilmington New York, with 34 employees and a separately run Wilmington Family Office, services the firm's clients in the tri-state area--and Guernsey has more on his to-do list for the firm.

Last year's inaugural Lifetime Achievement winner, Stan Pantowich, ceo of TAG Associates who was named for pioneering the modern multi-family office, said Guernsey has built a reputation on increasing a firm's scale and presence. "Tony took a sleepy Wilmington Trust and moved it into the mainstream of wealth management. He's a great choice," Pantowich said.

Harry O'Mealia, ceo of Legg Mason Investment Counsel, emphasized Guernsey's natural talent with tapping into client needs. "Tony just gets it. He understands the client and has more intuition than most people," O'Mealia said. "I'd love to buy one-quarter of his rolodex."

Guernsey said he has seen much change in the private banking industry over his career, most notably a boost in credibility on the Street. "When I came into the business, personal banking was the black sheep of banking. It has been interesting to see the shift," Guernsey said. He added that the business continues to be the most relationship driven in the industry, as bankers are tied not only to portfolio performance but also fear of disappointing a family. "You give advice and hopefully it's good advice, and that can provide a great deal of psychic income," Guernsey said.