Citywealth Leaders List, 60 seconds interview – Lionel Richard, Equiom
This week’s 60 seconds Citywealth Leaders List interview is dedicated to Lionel Richard, Director, Luxury Asset Services at Equiom.
Tell Citywealth readers a bit about your role.
I lead the Luxury Asset Services function, focused on advising private clients, family offices, and intermediaries on the structuring, governance, and lifecycle management of high value assets. My role is both strategic and client facing, covering mainly aircraft & yachts, but also fine art, and other tangible investments that often sit at the intersection of personal enjoyment, capital preservation, and legacy planning.
What does a typical day look like for you?
There is no true ‘typical’ day, which is part of the appeal. My time is split across three core areas: Client engagement (new offering, working with intermediaries), market engagement (staying close to trends and developments) and internal leadership (supporting team, maintaining high-quality delivery)
Tell us about some recent, interesting client instructions/requests you have received.
A recurring theme is the need to rationalise legacy holding structures that were designed in a very different regulatory and fiscal environment. Clients are seeking to simplify, without losing control or efficiency. Another area of interest is around asset transition, particularly intergenerational planning, where the challenge is balancing control, tax considerations, and the practical realities of asset use.
What challenges do your clients face and how are you helping your clients to overcome them?
The primary challenge is complexity. Regulatory scrutiny has increased, while tax and reporting requirements continue to evolve across jurisdictions. Clients are also dealing with fragmentation, multiple advisors, jurisdictions, and often legacy structures that are no longer fit for purpose. Our role is to simplify that complexity, by providing integrated solutions, bringing together structuring, governance, and administration under a coherent framework. We are acting as a central point of coordination between advisors.
Are there any top-of-mind themes for you or your clients?
Substance/transparency: clients are increasingly focused on ensuring their arrangements stand up to scrutiny.
Operational efficiency: there is a clear shift towards consolidating providers and simplifying structures.
Succession: many clients are thinking more actively about how assets transition across generations.
What is your proudest professional achievement?
A bit early for me to respond since I recently joined Equiom. For me, it is less about a single moment and more about consistently building trust with clients and teams over time. More broadly, being able to develop teams and create an environment where people perform at a high level is something I take pride in.
What do you consider to be the most important attributes for a leader?
I believe that effective leaders listen more than they speak and remain adaptable as circumstances evolve. So, Clarity (setting direction, communication), Consistency (behaviour, decision making) and Judgment (making right calls in pressure environment) comes to mind.
Who do you most admire and why?
Broadly less about public figures and more about individuals I have worked with who consistently demonstrate sound judgement, integrity, and the ability to bring people with them.
Where was the last place you travelled to for work or pleasure?
Most recently was Monaco and Isle of Man (TT race) actually, combining both business and pleasure, which is often the case in the industry.
If you weren’t in this industry, what else might you be doing?
Having grown up in a hotel, bar, and restaurant environment, I have always been drawn to people facing roles. Hospitality would have been a natural path, it is an industry rooted in relationships, service, and understanding people.
How do you relax after a long day?
I tend to balance that background by switching off in a quieter way, spending time at home with family and keeping things simple. It is a good counterpoint to a very people focused day.
Equiom’s Citywealth Leaders List profile
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