Global CEO Excellence Awards 2020

CEO MONTHLY / GLOBAL CEO EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2020 31 , Wealth Management CEO of the Year (UK): Steven Sussman Mr Steven Sussman is the CEO of JM Finn, a private client wealth management business, that has been managing investment portfolios for individuals since 1946. The firm’s focus has consistently been on providing a personal service for nearly seventy five years, a trait which has increasingly become a point of differentiation for Mr Sussman and the team. Working primarily with private clients, and looking after more than 18,500 clients at present, JM Finn aims to build long standing relationships which clients appreciate, especially when discussing the transfer of wealth to the next generation. However, despite the outstanding job that the firm has been doing for three quarters of a century, its most recent successes can undoubtedly be attributed, at least in part, to the work of CEO, Mr Sussman. Despite having trained as an accountant, it didn’t take long for Mr Sussman to release that he didn’t want to practice accountancy. Beginning his career at merchant bank Granville Plc where he became Group Finance Director, Mr Sussman then moved on to join JM Finn in 1997 as Managing Partner. Ten years later in 2007, JM Finn was incorporated as a private limited company, and Mr Sussman was promoted to the position of Managing Director. The years came and went for the firm, and after being sold to Delen Private Bank in 2015, Mr Sussman was finally promoted Managing wealth is something that many people want to be able to do with their hard-earned finances, and JMFinn is on hand to help its clients effectivelymanage that wealth. CEO Steven Sussmanmay have trained as an accountant, but is now one of the finest wealthmanagement chief executives currently working in the industry today. We find out more, following his win in this years’ Global CEO Excellence Awards, in CEOMonthly. Jun20099 to his current role of CEO. Since being in the role of CEO, Mr Sussman has both learned a lot of things, and implemented a lot of things to ensure that the firm runs smoothly and efficiently into the next seventy five years. Guaranteeing that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet and pulling in the right direction is one of the most important aspects for a leadership team, and that is exactly what Mr Sussman has sought to implement in his leadership team at JM Finn. Whilst this can be hard for a business such as this one, where the personalised nature of the services means silos can pop up easily, it has not stopped Mr Sussman and his entire team from delivering a service that is personal and professional to the absolute maximum. As CEO, Mr Sussman keeps on top of everything that his leadership team and wider firm do, whilst ensuring goals are met, appropriate targets are aligned to the business strategy, and everyone succeeds the best they can. As any good leader knows, their ability to deliver success in the hard times is just as important as delivering success in the good times. Undoubtedly, one of the biggest challenges that Mr Sussman has had to face in recent times is the global pandemic brought on by COVID-19. Getting a team of over three hundred people who usually work in a highly collaborative office-based environment working remotely in under two weeks has got to be one of the biggest achievements that Mr Sussman, or any business leader has been involved in. The key for Mr Sussman, and the entire team at JM Finn, is having excellent staff with the correct attitude and motivation. Before that, JMFinn and Mr Sussman have had to evolve from a partnership, to a limited company, to finally and currently being owned by a third party. This has meant that management has had to adapt accordingly, and changing working patterns and processes always requires a good deal of hand holding and changing of mindsets. In terms of major projects, Mr Sussman had the foresight to change the firm’s software infrastructure in 2013, which has set up JM Finn very well to face the acceleration in the pace of technology with a totally scalable solution. Simply put, there is no one better to lead JM Finn into a new period of success that Mr Sussman, and the future looks brighter than ever before. Company: JM Finn Contact: Oliver Tregoning Website: www.jmfinn.com