| Gerry Brady is Country Head of Northern Trust in Ireland. Northern Trust is a US Financial Institution founded in 1889 with $4.1 trillion of assets in custody and $996 billion of assets under administration. In Ireland, Northern Trust has licensed management, fund administration and custody /trustee companies, employing 505 staff in offices in Dublin and Limerick and administering $160 billion of assets as at December 31st 2007. |
6.50 Awake but refusing to get out of bed until the alarm clock rings.
7.30 Shaved, showered and on my way. Using the Luas to travel to Stephen’s Green. Listening to Morning Ireland through my ear-phones and reading the free daily newspapers distributed at the Luas stop – very light on business this morning.
8.10 Arrive at my office in Townsend Street; 10 minutes walk from St. Stephen’s Green. Get a bowl of cereal from our breakfast/staff room at work and start to attack my e-mails, having discussed the priority e-mails with my PA who manages my mailbox and starts her day at work at 7.00. Operating in different jurisdictions with international clients ensures that there is no shortage of e-mails to review. The objective is to action or delete as many e-mails as possible in as short a space of time as possible. Grab a cappuccino from our heavily used coffee machine in the office before my | | Gerry Brady |
9.00 meeting.
9.00 Bi-monthly conference call with the global head of Global Fund Services. The last few calls had to be deferred due to holidays and travel over the Christmas and New Year period and, as a result, lots of issues to discuss.
10.00 Open door policy results in two short unscheduled meetings with senior staff on current servicing and client relationship issues.
10.30 Monthly meeting with head of Fund Accounting. This is a new series of meetings, arising from a recent restructuring of Fund Accounting. Numerous organisational, servicing and staffing issues to discuss. Grab another cappuccino on my way back to my office for my 11.30 conference call.
11.30 Conference call for one of our top three clients, attended by delegates from Dublin and London.
12.15 After 45 minutes, sign off from meeting which has moved beyond matters which directly affect Ireland. Another attempt made to reduce continuing onslaught of e-mails and return phone calls. Open door policy again results in several unscheduled conversations with staff popping into the office.
13.00 Attend regular weekly sandwich lunch meeting of the Dublin Executive Committee (DEC). Very useful forum of small group of senior managers with the focus on doing rather than talking, addressing current issues on staffing, clients, systems and also our planned cocktail reception on January 31st to mark the establishment of our office in Limerick, now growing at a rapid pace.
14.15 Late for conference call meeting to discuss our policies and practices on anti-money laundering (AML), and the consistent application across all our offices. Attended by representatives from London, Guernsey and Dublin. Action point of presentation of draft paper at next week’s Regulatory Oversight Committee.
15.15 Return internal and external calls on a range of client and staffing issues.
16.00 Meet with the UK managing director of one of our major clients serviced in Dublin, who is on a regular visit to Dublin to review servicing and to meet all those involved in the servicing of the business. Business is much more enjoyable for client and service provider alike if we can personalise the relationship. My first time to meet the client who is very personable and happy with our servicing.
16.30 Grab another cappuccino before reviewing board pack prior to scheduled board meeting later in the week. After a few more unscheduled conversations with staff coming into my office, abandon the open door policy for the rest of the day.
17.30 Review and clear as many e-mails as possible and check calendar, particularly to ensure that I have not forgotten about any early morning meetings or briefings for the following day.
18.15 Leave the office, put on ear-phones to listen to the evening news and proceed to St. Stephen’s Green Luas stop. Squeeze onto the Luas at 18.30.
18.50 Arrive home
just before 19.00 and reintroduce myself to my two young children as well as my wife. Check whether either child has to be deposited in the ‘Bold Room’ and, if not, discuss how much we have missed each other during the day.
19.15 Change into casual clothes and sit down to dinner with my wife, during which our two girls rediscover their appetite, despite having been fed and watered just over an hour previously.
20.30 Convince our children that they really are sleepy and it is time for bed. Agree with my wife that she’s far more talented than I am at reading bed-time stories and putting the girls to bed. Settle down to read the ‘morning’ newspaper, listen to the various news programmes on the television and flick through the channels for a good documentary or soccer game before my wife comes downstairs after putting the girls to bed.
22.30 Retire for the night safe in the knowledge that, sadly for my wife, if the girls should wake during the night and have to be marched back into their bedroom, I am a heavy sleeper and will be oblivious to all developments. The end of a ‘perfect’ day. |
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| Article appeared in the February 2008 issue.
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