‘Everything and a Lot More’: The Rarest Role in Finance

Last week the outgoing CEO of a family office told me that the number of vacancies for key roles in prime locations is very low, and that the number of applicants for these positions is way up. When one of these plum positions like his appears, applicants scramble to apply.

And that is exactly what happened when the chief executive of one of London’s most well-known family offices, Thamesis Limited, announced his departure after sixteen years in the role. Paul Reynolds, who is also the long-standing chair of II’s European Single Family Office Symposium, stepped down to pursue other ventures around the industry as a consultant.

In his place, Cressida Myers has joined the family office as CEO. She will also chair the investment committee for the family trust and manage the family’s investment strategy. Myers was last active at J.P. Morgan where she was head of sustainable portfolio management for the international private bank in London.

It may sound like a straightforward people move, but this is one of the most highly coveted roles out there. A long list of excellent applicants could have been three times longer, Reynolds said. The reason for this is the evolution of the industry — what was once considered a niche role has become attractive for younger people with a finance skillset who think of these positions as having a better work-life balance than similar positions at banks or asset managers.

And the people who hold key family office jobs simply don’t want to give them up. Reynolds estimated that only one or two positions like this one will come up in an average year in London.

So why did he leave, I hear you ask. The inspiration was a book, The Hundred Year Life by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott. After reading it he decided that he didn’t want to work up to retirement age and then cut everything in one go. Instead, he wanted to continue learning and contributing, while improving his own work-life balance and reducing his hours and responsibility. Reynolds has been working with other families for a few years, assisting them with high level, strategic decision making, a role he said is “really satisfying.”

“I love the day job, but this way I can add value to more families and also have more time for myself,” he said. “When you look at it like that, well why wouldn't I?”