Philip Wright

Philip Wright hit London's City in '86, fresh out of school, right at the time of the Big Bang. After learning the ropes, he moved to Swiss Re in late '93, when the company managed assets of GBP 250 million through London. Today, Swiss Re Asset Management in the UK alone looks after over GPB 3 billion. "There are very few companies," says Philip, "that grow as quickly as one's ambitions. Asset Management has, and it's saved some job-hopping.

Reinsurers – like insurers – take in premiums and pay out losses. Meanwhile, they don't keep the money under the bed. Finance has always been the twin of re/insurance.

"Philip now heads the investment management of Swiss Re's sterling fixed-income portfolio. "Swiss Re looks ahead at the big picture rather than focusing on the short term. It isn't always looking over its shoulder at competitors," he says. There are initiatives that will continue the growth of past years, but "part of the Swiss Re vision is to withstand volatile times."

"In market terms, Swiss Re is huge. In terms of staff numbers, however, it's very small, so it's not just lip service about our people being our biggest asset: it's true. There's a lot of empowerment and trust. This critical mass and Swiss Re's ethos create an atmosphere in which there is a propensity for making the correct decisions." Perhaps this explains Philip's big ambition: "Getting it right… just keep on getting it right."

Consider Swiss Re… for your future in finance.

 

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"Teamwork in this job is widespread - my team consists of five people, each with different ideas and thought processes. So the ability to listen for four times as long as you can talk yourself is crucial. The challenge is to incorporate (or at least consider) all the ideas within the strategy, without compromising to the consensus."