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Life after PM: changing course
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There are those fate has deemed wanderers, like Vikings they sail forward and following the example of those ambitious explorers, fuelled by curiosity and the will to conquer new worlds, they gather treasures as they go — both knowledge and material possessions. These are wily, if restless, beings and know how best to capitalise resources. Such is this issue’s hero, Stuart Robertson.
He charted his financial course early, stepping on to the ship of life assurance, an office junior, the lowliest oarsman. Sturdy, he survived to take that financial rite of passage — jumping ship to WM. For he knew performance measurement skills would give him stength wherever he might roam. There he laboured for eight long years in the PM team and in that time the opportunity for advancement remained ever on the horizon, yet never close at hand. Frustrated he broke free of these bonds and travelled the world on his own, experiencing the fresh sea breeze, the salty air and new continents away from the constraints and harsh disciplines of a financial environment.
Refreshed, upon his return he joined the Aegon UK market data department but became disillusioned by this trade, and soon found himself longing to be back in a PM team. He liked numbers; he liked working with them navigating the flow of precious bullion.
Then, by a stroke of good fortune, he was recruited into the launch of the HSBC performance team under that great leader Colin Kay, setting up the appropriate procedures and processes of this great venture. There by his reckoning, he found the best place to work, best people, best launch and achieved satisfaction from setting up the department, addressing those important issues of structure and teamwork. These they conquered with aplomb and great glory, a success of mythic proportions. There was such diversity — ventures abroad, seminars, a variety of people, more adventure, his own teams to run — an excellent voyage to the centre of the financial sea. In time, however, chances for fresh challenges grew less frequent — certainly they did not come rapidly enough for someone with a love of speed and adventure.
Then the gods hurled a thunderbolt. He met an alluring siren and found he was to be the father of twins. He decided he wanted to be close at hand to apprentice these young boys and desired flexibility in his life’s arrangements. This decision came with mixed emotions, for he had strong bonds with his fellow explorers, yet it also held that sense of excitement and terror of the unknown, addictions part and parcel of a conqueror of distant goals.
So now in the sea of life he runs his own fine ship, discovering new worlds as the sole commander of a taxi. He found the flexibility to be the father he wants to be and the hoard of treasure he brings home good and fitting. But the experience of the PM team is ever with him. As he meets new people, he has the skills to cover a broad spectrum of engagement, discussing foreign topics with alacrity and intelligence.
His PM memories are now anchored on a distant and misty shore. Though he regrets not his decision, he occasionally misses his companions for, as others have found, the sense of teamwork in a niche market is compelling. Still he smiles with contentment as he navigates breezily along the open streets of Edinburgh to whatever adventure each new day brings.
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