Leaders List interview: 60 seconds with Henry Kierulf

Date: 31 Jan 2024

Ashleigh John

This week’s 60-second piece is dedicated to Henry Kierulf, Managing Director at ZEDRA.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Always very busy, meeting after meeting, always wondering where the day went which is a good things. Every day, I enjoy interacting with our teams and leaders that provide value to our clients and move our business forward in a very collegiate manner.

Tell us about some recent, interesting client instructions.

There are so many across our business, but there is one family in particular that has always been very interesting to assist especially recently as they embrace a succession strategy with very complex dynamics. Being valued by them on their journey has given us a true sense of being a trusted advisor and partner.

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

The events around the world the last few years have changed people’s priorities and many families have been focused on succession planning and having an asset strategy for the future.

What is your proudest professional achievement?

I’ve had the privilege of working with great teams, driven towards a common goal and facing a difficult challenges with change. I wouldn’t highlight any one achievement, but it is always nice to get to the end of a project, initiative where we have helped our clients and been able to celebrate success with our people.

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

It is really important to listen, be diverse and open to different points of view. It’s all about the team around you, nobody does it by themselves.

Who do you most admire and why?

A difficult one, but I’ve always admired leaders who can communicate effectively. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, I’ve always found to be very effective at communicating, not that I was agreeing with their view, but they have a way of captivating an audience by the way they speak and their body language.

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

London was the place with my son to visit friends for a weekend, always nice to get across and experience a big city. Before that it Lisbon for work, a very vibrant city with history and architecture.

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

In school, I used to enjoy acting.  Probably wasn’t very good at it, so glad I ended up where I am.

How do you relax after a long day?

Watching a good film and listening to music, kind of get lost and ‘chill’, but love to come home to my faithful, best four-legged friend, Skylar.  And no matter how long the day, I know my son will drag me out to the gym almost every evening, so maybe not the most relaxing!

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