An Interview with ... Andrea Orcel

Andrea Orcel is President of UBS Investment Bank and has been a member of the UBS Group Executive Board since 2012. He is married with a young daughter, and he tells us about his career, how he preserves time for his family and how he believes employers can support fathers in the workplace.

How do you preserve time in your working week for parenting and what helps you to do this successfully?

I think it is just about being disciplined. There are mornings which I set aside for to me to do the school run and they are not touched. My team knows this my assistant knows this and realistically, there is plenty of time to catch up on anything I might miss afterwards!!!. This is an industry that will take all of you if you let it, so you need to be clear about what your priorities are and protect them.

When you became a father, did this change your perspective on your career and if so, how?

I don't think having a child can do anything but change your perspective. It has forced me to find more balance and time for my family. I still work incredibly hard, but there is a sense of perspective to it these days.

Many working fathers in the City want to achieve a better balance between their work responsibilities and their parenting responsibilities, to allow them to play a more hands-on parenting role. How do you help others at UBS's investment bank to do this?

So often the focus is on how can we best support mothers, which is as it should be but not at the expense of fathers. Men feel the emotional pull of being away from their children, wanting to do the school run or watch a sports match. This is something that we've recognised and have tried hard to address, whether that is through delivering a fully flexible working environment that allows both parents to find a better balance, shared parental leave or through more structured initiatives such as Take 2 which we launched to enable all employees to take two hours a week to do something outside of work for themselves, or the promotion of agile working and the encouragement and vocal acceptances of those that work from home. These are all initiatives that we have embedded in how we 'run the bank'. Most importantly we put a huge amount of importance on them being modelled by senior management, setting the example and tone from the top is central in terms of changing attitudes and behaviour. Ultimately what is important is to allow our people to make their own choices without restricting them unnecessarily.

What's your view on fathers taking extended periods of leave from work (e.g. through shared parental leave) in order to concentrate on parenting and how easy is it for employers in the investment banking industry to accommodate this?

My strong view is the fathers should and need to do what is right for them and for their families, and I and UBS are fully supportive of employees taking Shared Parental Leave. Since it came into place UBS has been an early adopter and whilst there is always more we can do, has worked very hard to make the offering as user-friendly and flexible as possible. In the time since we rolled it out, we have seen a meaningful take-up and it is increasing, everyone from our operations teams to our front office trading desks. It shouldn't be an issue for the Investment banking industry adopt this policy – it simply takes effective planning and communication by all parties. Our policy has been designed to be eminently flexible enabling employees to take a block of leave or separate blocks depending on what best fits their needs as an employee and for their family. As an example, one of our first adopters was a Global Managing Director. He chose to take a month off immediately after the birth, then came back to work and took another month later in the year. It time and communication to ensure that it would have minimal impact, but ultimately with the right planning, it didn't affect his clients or his team, but I am fairly certain it had a huge impact on his children and his family.

There remain significant cultural barriers for fathers wanting to take extended periods of leave from work - what do you think is the most effective way to bring about long-term cultural change within an organisation?

To effectively change the culture it needs to start at the top and it needs to be vocal. Senior leaders have to publically show that they are supportive. I for example, when I am not travelling, will have one day a week when I take my daughter to school, I always take vacation around her holidays, we have heads of division who work from home and will deliberately host skype calls so that they are being visible. We profile those that Take 2 who for example use it go to sports matches or just to have breakfast with their children. All this is about reducing the stigma and ultimately about changing behaviour. It is about taking action and not just talking about it. You can have all the policies in the world, but if you don't fundamentally alter people's attitudes and mindset to this type of working environment you won't make real progress. We haven't got it solved yet, but we are making strides.

As professionals seek more autonomy over their work patterns, what challenges face large businesses seeking to recruit and retain talent?

We saw with the millennials and we are seeing even more so with Generation Z, that coming to work has to be about more than picking up a paycheck. Companies need to understand that times have changed and attitudes to work have changed, they need to adapt and create a strong culture, a different environment and not just around flexibility but in general, that new recruits will buy into, that they want to be part of and proud of. If employees feel that their bigger needs are not being met – now – more than ever they will move firms. And the juniors they will also call you out – so it needs to be authentic – no platitudes on a bumper sticker – you have to live and breathe the culture that you are offering. It also extends to more senior employees as well – if you want to retain your best performers, you need to be attuned to offering a culture of flexibility – as mentioned, one of our first adopters of SPL was a senior MD, one of our European Heads took six months off on sabbatical – these types of request are going to become more commonplace – this is what firms have to offer and to understand – you get this right and you are repaid tenfold.

What has been of most value in helping you to advance your career to this point?

Strong mentors have been a constant feature in my career, the ability to seek advice and learn from others cannot be underestimated. I've also been very fortunate to have supportive bosses who have allowed me autonomy to stretch myself, build relationships and also to make mistakes.

What would be your top 3 pieces of advice for those looking to progress their career to senior executive level in a City firm?

1. Be prepared, it is a phenomenal industry but it is an industry that requires hard work and dedication – you get a lot back but you have to give a lot.

2. Take risks. With the '08 crisis, we overnight became an industry adverse to risk taking – but taking risks is what our industry is skilled at doing – not risks at any cost, or for personal gain, but smart, measured risk for the benefit of our clients

3. Accept that along the way you will make mistakes and failing is part of how you learn. I recently spoke with some of our As and ADs and showed them the quote from Michael Jordan about how many times he had failed and missed and yet without those experiences – he wouldn't have been the player that he was – and the same applies to your career.