This hedge fund executive praises the beauty of challenging workplace conversations

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This hedge fund executive praises the beauty of challenging workplace conversations

Hello and welcome to The modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores leadership practices drawn from interviews with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc.againFast company . If you received this letter from your friend, you can get itsign up to find out for yourselfevery Monday morning.

Almost every article and comment about Robyn Grew—including this one—note that she is the first woman and openly gay executive to rise to the position of CEO at Man Group, the world’s largest publicly traded hedge fund.

Grew, who took over in September 2023, embraces his trailblazer status. In a recent interview noThe modern CEOhe calls his professional journey in financial services “unusual”—he worked as a lawyer early in his career—and says the lens makes him open to hiring and promoting people from diverse backgrounds, which he sees as Man Group’s competitive advantage. He says: “Ingenuity does not come from only one place. “It doesn’t come in one way. It does not come from one university. It does not come from one country. There is an economy that comes from the conversation between the people sitting in the back of the bus and in the front of the bus and in the middle of the bus and outside the bus. And I want all of that, and yes, it’s totally worth it. “

The next quest

Man Group board member Ceci Kurzman acknowledges that Grew, who has held leadership roles at the company since 2010, has created a diverse workplace at the company, but insists that Grew has gotten the best job because of his technical and investment expertise.

Under Grew, Man Group has reorganized its technology teams and created dedicated data science and artificial intelligence (AI) teams working on projects to improve customer experience and improve efficiency in the company. The company is working to integrate and integrate AI into its trading systems. And Grew is looking at ways to use Man Group’s education consulting network to deliver customized research to clients through its solutions business. During Grew’s tenure as CEO, assets under management grew from $161 billion at the end of September 2023 to $175 billion.

“A lot of ink is spilled [Grew] being a woman, LGBTQ, and a culture driver,” Kurzman said. “You are those things. He is also a master strategist with a vision for how to create and grow a business that outperforms the investment industry.”

The Enemy of Innovation

Grew’s version of multiculturalism is what groupthink means. And while other organizations struggle to manage differences or encourage honest conversations in the workplace, Grew says it’s essential to Man Group’s success, where ideas matter.

Grew says he recently had a fireside chat at a client event with Louis Theroux, a filmmaker whose subjects include modern-day Scientologists and Nazis. Grew says he wanted to understand how he chooses his subjects, how he trusts him and how he is able to listen to opposing views. He sees parallels in his work and the curiosity he tries to bring to Man Group. “If you have such a closed mind that you can’t hear the other side, no matter how difficult or external it is, you lose what makes you better at what you do, scatter, and be able to understand the world from different perspectives.

“We should be open at a time when you are asked to choose a side and double down,” he said. “The most unusual thing about it [me] that I refuse to do that. I create a space where it is not normal. I want us to be challenged because we are better at it.”

How does your company promote diversity of opinion?

Does your organization have a culture that empowers employees to challenge the status quo? How do you encourage divergent thinking? Send your recommendations to me at stephaniemehta@mansueto.com. I would like to share the best ideas in an upcoming newsletter.

Also read this issue: Top leaders