· Kurt MacAlpine, David Senra
[00:00:00] S1: So, that was part of my pitch as part of the interview process to the board, was they had asked my opinions, obviously, as part of that, on the future, how I saw the future direction of the company. I outlined a strategy. Probably one of the core pillars of the strategy was to effectively launch the business that's Corient today. Fortunately for me, I had a phenomenal board. The board was comprised of significant owners of the business who had a tremendous amount of vested interest in the company, but were also great at delegating, but also collaborating and providing advice. So, it was very welcomed. And because we had such a transparent conversation around what the strategy will look like as part of my interview process, we were able to hit the ground running from the day that I started. [00:00:00] S0: Weren't you running a similar idea or playbook to the original founder of that company too? [00:00:00] S1: So, it's interesting. So, you're probably referring to Bill Holland, who was a previous CEO, who was the chairman of the company. [00:00:00] S0: Okay. [00:00:00] S1: So, Bill and Ray Chang, and Ray's daughter was on the board with us ultimately as well, had done a tremendous job of effectively building scale in the Canadian asset management industry. So, at the point in time, they saw an industry that was subscale, ripe for disruption, and took advantage and built- [00:00:00] S0: They did that through acquisition?
· David Senra, Kurt MacAlpine
[00:00:00] S0: They did that through acquisition? [00:00:00] S1: Through acquisition, through a series of acquisitions in the Canadian marketplace, focused on the mutual fund industry, and did an amazing job with it. And a lot of that kind of put CI in the privileged position that the company was in at that point in time. [00:00:00] S0: And so, something you repeated when we spoke previously is like, I don't remember the exact line, but basically, you think the most dangerous thing that you can do is stand still. [00:00:00] S1: Mm-hmm. [00:00:00] S0: And like, the biggest risk is taking no risk. [00:00:00] S1: Yeah. [00:00:00] S0: So, they're in a dwindling, what sounds like a dwindling business. [00:00:00] S1: Yeah. [00:00:00] S0: So, what are you going to just sit here and just take less money every year, or are you going to do something drastically different? [00:00:00] S1: Yeah, and I think that, to me, I always tell people, oftentimes people get comfort when things aren't changing. That's when you should be the most uncomfortable. Look at the business you're in, right? It's just everything is changing around us at all times. And so, I'm the most nervous when things aren't changing. And ideally, the change is happening. So then the question is, are you leading the change, are you participating in the change, or are you disrupting the change? And I think you're always better to be the one pushing the change forward on behalf of the firm or the industry.
· Kurt MacAlpine, David Senra
[00:00:00] S1: Yeah, and I think that, to me, I always tell people, oftentimes people get comfort when things aren't changing. That's when you should be the most uncomfortable. Look at the business you're in, right? It's just everything is changing around us at all times. And so, I'm the most nervous when things aren't changing. And ideally, the change is happening. So then the question is, are you leading the change, are you participating in the change, or are you disrupting the change? And I think you're always better to be the one pushing the change forward on behalf of the firm or the industry. [00:00:00] S0: Before we get into how you go from CI to Corient, you seem wildly ambitious. Every time I talk to you, you say, like, you want to be the best in the world at what you do. [00:00:00] S1: Yep. [00:00:00] S0: You had never been a CEO up until 39, right? [00:00:00] S1: Right. [00:00:00] S0: Did that ambition come later in life? Were you like that younger? [00:00:00] S1: No, I've always- [00:00:00] S0: That's very unusual to be like, "Hey, I've had two decades of professional experience, and I'm going to jump in and like Genghis Khan try to take over this industry."
· David Senra, Kurt MacAlpine
[00:00:00] S0: That's very unusual to be like, "Hey, I've had two decades of professional experience, and I'm going to jump in and like Genghis Khan try to take over this industry." [00:00:00] S1: No, I've always been personally ambitious. I'm also a huge proponent of doing things you're genuinely passionate about. I love the wealth management industry. I love human capital businesses. Again, I thought there was a tremendous opportunity for disruption. So, my whole thing is, as you mentioned on change, is one, you should feel uncomfortable if you're not changing, if you're not constantly pushing yourself. The other firm belief that I have is people really benefit from deep specialized expertise. I think in that, just think of all the folks that you're interviewing and having conversations with. They have positioned themselves to be deeper and better at something, whatever that ultimately is, and that typically leads to outsized returns and outcomes for them. [00:00:00] S0: Incredibly. [00:00:00] S1: I think in many instances, human nature guides people towards optionality, right? So, people get a little more comfort in optionality. "I want to be able to do this, this, this, and then this." And you can be fine at a bunch of those things, but it's very, very hard to be world-class ultimately at something. So, really, the focus was how do we push ourselves to build the best business for clients in ultra-high-net-worth management globally? And that's been the aspiration for the business since we started.
· Kurt MacAlpine, David Senra
[00:00:00] S1: I think in many instances, human nature guides people towards optionality, right? So, people get a little more comfort in optionality. "I want to be able to do this, this, this, and then this." And you can be fine at a bunch of those things, but it's very, very hard to be world-class ultimately at something. So, really, the focus was how do we push ourselves to build the best business for clients in ultra-high-net-worth management globally? And that's been the aspiration for the business since we started. [00:00:00] S0: Okay, so you become CEO of this company. You have this plan. You've clearly thought about all the, like, what you want to do, which you just laid out for us. [00:00:00] S1: Yeah. [00:00:00] S0: What are the assets that you have? You have a couple hundred million in cash flow- [00:00:00] S1: Yep [00:00:00] S0: ... that you can deploy, and then your idea is like, "We're going to essentially empty the tank. We're going to take all that money and lever up." Day one on the job, what are you doing?
· David Senra, Kurt MacAlpine
[00:00:00] S0: ... that you can deploy, and then your idea is like, "We're going to essentially empty the tank. We're going to take all that money and lever up." Day one on the job, what are you doing? [00:00:00] S1: There's a couple things that I guess you're doing. So, as it relates to building the Corient business, so I had this point of view around both the opportunity set in ultra-high-net-worth wealth management, and then call it the disruptive structure that we wanted to put in place from an industry perspective. So, really, the first thing, I guess like any idea or business that you're trying to get off the ground is- ... is what you're proposing going to resonate? Does this structure... It is fundamentally different how we operate the business from other wealth managers. Is this going to resonate with great entrepreneurs in wealth management who see and align with this vision? So really kind of the first objective is, is this really filling a void in the marketplace, both for clients and wealth advisory professionals, that is going to resonate where this business is ultimately going to generate success? And then, on the back of that, as the concept starts to take off, then you start to think about capital prioritization trade-offs and things like that. [00:00:00] S0: Actually, you know what? Let's talk about the way your business is structured around, and then we'll talk about how you did it. [00:00:00] S1: Sure. [00:00:00] S0: Because this is what I was like, "Well, why..." You were explaining- [00:00:00] S1: Yeah