Leaders List interview: 60 seconds with Gordon Scott, Brown Shipley

Date: 25 Sep 2024

Karen Jones

This week’s 60-second piece is dedicated to Gordon Scott, Head of Private Bank – North at Brown Shipley.

Tell Citywealth readers a bit about your role.

I’m Head of Private Bank – North at Brown Shipley, with responsibility for the North. That covers our offices in Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and Nottingham.

Brown Shipley, with roots in the North West, has been looking after clients for more than 200 years.

My role is to maintain and further strengthen our robust proposition in the region so we can meet the needs of the families we serve. I work closely with our client advisors to deliver the personalised service our clients deserve and the long-term opportunities they seek.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I usually have an early start as I like to be in the office when colleagues come in. My first call in the diary is always the 8am UK leadership call, when we discuss key business issues and pressing client needs. 

Regularly meeting with clients around the region is a key part of my role. That’s why I work closely with our client advisors to understand what’s on their mind and how I can support them.

Throughout the day, I attend meetings on important regulatory matters and developments, for example regarding Consumer Duty and how we must act accordingly. I often participate in networking events along with our client advisors. We regularly fundraise for charity, including for Macmillan Cancer Support. This is another way to catch up with colleagues – for a good cause.

When away from home, my day often ends with a session in the hotel gym and then dinner – although mostly my evenings are for networking events in the region.

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

Some of the most interesting work we have done has been for UHNW clients. This involves structuring their assets and credit facilities secured against those assets as well as commercial property holdings. One of our differentiators is that we can work on both sides of the balance sheet, which creates real advantages on flexibility, pricing and outcomes.

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

Uncertainty is the biggest challenge. That is mostly around the political environment, pensions and tax changes. We always encourage clients to be mindful of their own situation and consider their long-term priorities – no matter how the world around them changes. Such reasoned and purposeful decision-making can foster a greater sense of controlling one’s own destiny, despite uncertainty linked to external events that none of us can control.

What is your proudest professional achievement?

I’m incredibly lucky to have had lots of professional achievements over my 30+ year career. So far, that includes exam passes, big client wins and leading some fantastic teams. Over the past three decades, I have learnt that no one succeeds on their own: I am proud of what I have achieved and know that every achievement depends upon the support and contribution of others.

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

Visibility, access and transparency

Who do you most admire and why?

I deeply admire both my boys. They live in a very different world than the one that I navigated professionally and personally. However, they demonstrate a work ethic, a genuine sense of who they are, and an authenticity and energy that are absolutely amazing. I am of course biased, but I think taking inspiration from those “coming behind” is far more energising than from those who have gone before.

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

I live just outside Glasgow so travel regularly for work to Manchester, Leeds and London. My last holiday was in Majorca at the amazing Ikos Puerto Pedro.

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

I would love to have been a greenkeeper; there’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of perfectly manicured and managed grass.

How do you relax after a long day?

On evenings and weekends when home, time out in the fields and woods with our Golden doodle is the perfect distraction – despite the ridiculously bad Scottish summer!

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