Leaders List interview: 60 seconds with Alexander Dickinson

Date: 27 Mar 2024

Ashleigh John

This week’s 60-second piece is dedicated to Alexander Dickinson, Partner at Womble Bond Dickinson.

Tell Citywealth readers a bit about your role.

I am currently a Partner in Womble Bond Dickinson’s private wealth group and am responsible for several of the firm’s largest private client relationships. This remit also has led to me sitting on a number of company, family office, and strategic boards to act as a trusted and key advisor on topics relevant to those clients.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Almost every day is spent in someone’s office – be it our own across the UK or that of our clients – working regularly to further our relationships and understandings of our clients and their core needs, and then feeding that information throughout our teams to ensure each client team has a full picture of where our clients are heading. Combine that with working alongside other firm members on matters like office management and team logistics, and the day fills up very quickly!

Tell us about some recent, interesting client instructions you have received.

As all of my client work is confidential, it’s difficult to zero in on specific instructions, but it has been fascinating seeing the increase in interest from clients around their assets and the structures they operate within and how that will change with the expectation of a new government at some point this year.

What challenges do your clients face and how are you helping your clients to overcome them?

Particularly in the shadow of a general election, we are seeing a lot of clients unsure as to how to navigate upcoming global and political changes. However, we work to mitigate the impact of a lot of these changes with a more long-term approach rather than short term fixes – this can only be done by deeply embedding ourselves with our clients to understand their needs and opportunities, and implement tailored action plans that achieve those core aims.

What is your proudest professional achievement?

Over a long career, I think the proudest achievement that has stood out for me is seeing the constant development of my colleagues and being able to play a key part in that journey – in my team, a third of all our Partners began their careers with us as a trainee, and amongst the non-Partner group the figures are even higher, so seeing the long sustained growth of the team and the commitment to each other and our clients is something of which I could not be more proud.

What do you consider to be the most important attributes for a leader?

For me, a leader should be focused on continuous improvement of themselves and their team, which is why they are only as good as their team; it’s vital to have the self-awareness and effective communications skills needed to identify people who are talented in areas where you may be lacking or have different worldviews, as that is what feeds into the push for constant improvement.

Who do you most admire and why?

Growing up, one person that I admired was the Leeds winger Eddie Gray – not only was he a fantastic footballer who excelled on the pitch, but he was dedicated to the team through thick and thin, powering through the difficult times and revelling in the success of future generations. It’s a worldview and passion I’ve taken up in my own line of work and sharing in the success of the next generation is something in which I take great enjoyment.

Where was the last place you travelled to for work or pleasure?

Outside of travelling between our eight offices across the UK for work, I was recently in York for the weekend with my family, exploring its picturesque city streets and historical museums while taking in some the great food and drink the region has to offer – definitely a spot to return to again in the future.

If you weren’t in this industry, what else might you be doing?

I think a career of some description in the property industry would be the natural landing place for me if I wasn’t within the law – it’s in the blood as many members in my family went down that path so I’ve naturally been interested in the field from quite a young age and there are so many possibilities within that sector to explore.

How do you relax after a long day?

For me, after a long day I find enjoyment and relaxation in games, be it board games with my family or a more traditional card game with friends, but I also love to challenge myself to do something new and cooking is something to which I often turn – I’ll constantly be looking at new recipes in the weekend papers, and I’m looking forward to an upcoming course on Vietnamese food which will provide a new culture of food to dive into.

You can view Alexander’s profile on the Leaders List here.