Leaders List interview: 60 seconds with Nataša Williams

Date: 21 Feb 2024

Ashleigh John

This week’s 60-second piece is dedicated to Nataša Williams, Co-founder and CEO of Cadro.

Tell Citywealth readers a bit about your role.

I am the Co-founder and CEO of Cadro, a tech-enabled investment management service, headquartered in London. The role is as varied as any job can be: my Co-founder and I set up the business in 2022, building each component from the ground up. Now we’re focused on developing internal teams, constantly improving our bespoke technology, and growing our client base.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I try to come to the office most days, yet the day starts much earlier with emails and messages.  As old habits die hard, I still check the markets and the financial news first thing in the morning on my Bloomberg app whilst sipping coffee, a moment of bliss and calm. 

Office hours are usually a flurry of back-to-back meetings and calls, ranging from mapping technology goals and finance targets, all the way to meeting clients and our investors, which I very much enjoy.

I often attend dinners and events in the evenings, though I try and limit these as I get exhausted by the end of the week.

Tell us about some recent, interesting client instructions.

We are working on a number of interesting private market portfolios with clients.

They require deep knowledge of private markets and a wide overview of the amazing opportunities these kinds of products can present to suitable investors. The arrival of semi-liquid funds is an interesting development, potentially broadening access to this asset class.

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

Universally, clients care about the next generation and how to guide them in the path to becoming responsible and fulfilled adults, regardless of their financial privileges.

There is no panacea here, but I do believe helping with financial education and promoting a passion for investing can show responsible money management beats spending! The Cadro approach is really focused on making investing enjoyable.

What is your proudest professional achievement?

I am very proud to have gotten Cadro off the ground.

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

One thing I have learnt is that amazing leaders come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. The media frenzied world is narrowing down the attribute list too much, and we are all missing out on great people to lead teams, institutions and countries. Anyone can lead.

Who do you most admire and why?

Definitely Barak Obama. A self-starter, an outsider, and a man of deep integrity. During his Presidency he maintained a calm and thoughtful exterior no matter what pressing issues were going on. I want to know how he did it, how did he decompress the stress?

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

I am just about to head out to Vienna for the annual Opera Ball, a truly magical event. The Austrians have the ability to make a super exclusive event friendly and weirdly down to earth.

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

I still dream of being a journalist.

How do you relax after a long day?

There isn’t much time left at the end of the day during the week, but I love country walks and cycle rides at weekends. I can’t wait for the spring when days are longer!

You can view Nataša‘s profile on the Leaders List here.