Falling Into a Career and Finding a Vocation
Mentor speaker: Michael Lewis, Partner, US/UK Cross Border Tax Services, EY Private Client Services speaks at the Citywealth Tomorrow Club. Lewis won Accountant of the Year in Citywealth’s Magic Circle 2021 Awards and is a Citywealth Forum speaker on tax.
Many successful careers are carefully planned. Others are stumbled upon. For Michael Lewis, now a Partner at EY, it was very much the latter.
He did not apply for a role in personal tax. In fact, he had not intended to stay in the profession at all. His original application was for a role working on share schemes and when he found himself in private client tax instead, he assumed it would be temporary. A year at most, he thought, while he looked for something better.
What changed his mind was simple. He realised he enjoyed the work. In Lewis’s view, that enjoyment is the most important factor in any successful career.
Private client tax offered an unexpected blend of disciplines. It combined mathematics and law and as his role developed, it drew in an ever wider range of skills and perspectives. Over time, the work became more varied and more intellectually demanding rather than repetitive.
He also discovered a strong sense of community. The private client world, he says, is one where collaboration matters and where shared problem solving is part of daily life.
Learning, he believes, never stops. If you do not understand something, you research it. You ask questions. Sometimes those questions prompt laughter. Occasionally they really are silly questions. But more often, asking them reveals that others are just as confused. When one person speaks up, many more quietly follow.
That willingness to ask, and to persist, has been central to his progress. It is also advice he gives readily to younger colleagues.
Lewis encourages people to get involved early. Focus on areas you enjoy, but do not avoid challenge. One practical recommendation is to take part in delivering training. Nothing deepens understanding, he argues, quite like having to explain a subject to others.
The same applies to presentation skills. Like networking, they improve with practice rather than avoidance.
Building a network early is another theme he stresses. This applies as much internally as externally. Cultivating mentors matters, particularly those willing to invest time and answer questions. Alongside this, he advises people to think carefully about their personal brand and what they want to be known for.
It is advice he continues to act on himself. Despite a demanding professional schedule, Lewis has taken time out of his working life to speak with and mentor members of the Citywealth Tomorrow Club. The club supports professionals in their first or second role within private wealth management and private client advisory, offering early career insight from senior figures who have navigated similar paths.
His guidance is not without humour. Do not marry a colleague, he says. And if you do, try not to talk shop at the dinner table. Your children, he notes, will not thank you for it.
There have been clear milestones along the way. Business travel took him across the Middle East, the United States and Europe. He still remembers the two day assessment centre required to become a Director, an intensive process of interviews and presentations that pushed candidates well beyond their comfort zone.
He later reached Partner equivalent at Frank Hirth, a moment often imagined as the ultimate destination. The reality, he says, was more sobering. You quickly realise you are at the bottom of a new hierarchy, not the top of the old one.
For Lewis, that insight is not discouraging. It is simply another reminder that careers are not destinations but continuums, shaped as much by curiosity and resilience as by ambition.
Biog: Michael Lewis, Partner, US/UK Cross Border Tax Services, EY Private Client Services Limited
Provides complex tax planning and compliance advice to international ultra-high-net-worth individuals. Passionate about cycling. Enjoys spending time with family and travelling. Michael has over 27 years of experience in advising on US and UK private client tax issues. He provides advice across a broad spectrum of areas including: US and UK interaction on personal income, capital and social security taxes, US gift and estate taxes, UK inheritance tax, and tax-efficient charitable planning. Michael is a qualified Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA), a US Enrolled Agent (EA) and a STEP Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP). Michael won Accountant of the Year in Citywealth’s Magic Circle 2021 Awards. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Politics from University of Warwick. How Michael is building a better working world: Michael has a passion for philanthropy, in terms of personal fund raising via sponsored cycle events, through to his focus on pushing for a reform of the tax system to help develop a bigger culture of giving in the UK. Michael is an avid supporter of donor-advised funds, and speaks regularly on their tax benefits, and how they help energise family gifting. He believes strongly that the tax system should be reformed to encourage more innovative gifting arrangements.
Key Takeaways
- Michael Lewis, a Partner at EY, speaks at Citywealth Tomorrow Club and shares insights from his unexpected career path in private client tax.
- He believes enjoyment in work is crucial for success and values the blend of math and law that this field offers.
- Lewis encourages asking questions and fostering a strong network, stressing the importance of mentorship and personal branding.
- He advises on getting involved early and embracing challenges, such as delivering training and enhancing presentation skills.
- Careers are ongoing journeys shaped by curiosity and resilience, according to Lewis, who continues to mentor others despite his busy schedule.
Michael Lewis’ Citywealth Leaders List profile
EY’s Citywealth Leaders List profile
Subscribe to the Citywealth Weekly Newsletter to learn more about Private Wealth Management.
Read More:
Leaders List interview: 60 seconds with Michael Lewis
Citywealth Forum 2025 – Michael Lewis TEP CTA EA
Private Client Law and Accounting 2025
Citywealth Forum Agenda 2025 Wealth Management Forum USA New York
Navigating Wealth Management Shifts in Latin America Today
Magic Circle Awards 2025 | Citywealth Awards Results
Report on the Citywealth IFC Awards 2026
The Citywealth International Financial Centre (IFC) Awards 2026 took place on January 28, 2026, at the Biltmore Hotel Mayfair in London.
Landed estates and rural businesses face unworkable inheritance tax reforms, Lords warn
From large landed estates such as the Grosvenor Estate, Chatsworth and Woburn Abbey to diversified rural businesses spanning agriculture, property, tourism and renewables, the inheritance tax changes now facing landed estates and rural enterprises go well beyond traditional farming.