2008-06-21 09:36:39 - This is the complete interview of the current Chief Executive of the IFSL made by the CEO of EUBankers

EUB: Can you give us some biographical details, including where you were born, educated, your first job positions and where you are living now.

Sir Stephen: My first career was in the British Diplomatic Service which I joined from university in 1968. My final posting was as British Ambassador to Spain. Before that I was the Director General in the Foreign

Office responsible for Defence and Intelligence Affairs and Deputy Ambassador in Washington DC. I have also served in New Delhi, India, in Brussels at the EU and in New York. I was born in Quito, Ecuador and educated in Britain at Shrewsbury School and The Queen's College, Oxford. Having left the Diplomatic Service in 2007, I now live in Wandsworth and work in the City of London.

EUB: What is your job now, how many staff do you have, how long have you been in position and what are your aims and objectives with IFSL?

Sir Stephen: I joined IFSL as Chief Executive in January 2008. We are a small team of 14 people but we are well connected both with our member companies and with all the relevant institutions of the City of London and the UK Government. IFSL's purpose is to promote our members' businesses, the City of London and UK financial services to international markets in order to support the City's position as the leading international financial centre in the world.

EUB: What challenges did you find yourself facing when you joined IFSL? And what feedback have member firms been giving your re IFSL?

Sir Stephen: My challenge is to show our members how IFSL can add value to their businesses and how my own leadership of IFSL will strengthen this. The feedback that I have received during my introductory visits to members has been strongly positive. IFSL has good name recognition as an influential part of the fabric of the City and we are seen to facilitate useful contacts for our members with key contacts and policy-makers from target markets especially the emerging economies and with key policy makers in the UK.

EUB: What measures have you put in place to face these challenges?

Sir Stephen: We are sharpening the focus of our working groups and our meetings with overseas visitors. We have built expertise and frameworks for dialogue in innovative areas of business such as Islamic Finance and Carbon Markets as well as more traditional areas of City expertise such as PPP/PFI and Education, Training and Qualifications. This year we have upgraded and updated our website and we are becoming more systematic about member care.

EUB: What do you feel are IFSL's strengths and USPs (unique selling points)?

Sir Stephen: IFSL's distinctive strengths are, first, that it is a membership organization directly supporting its members' international business strategies and, second, that its membership is cross-sectoral offering its institutional and overseas contacts access to the whole range of businesses in the UK-based financial services sector. Furthermore, IFSL provides the only voice for UK practitioners to influence the Government, the EU and the WTO on international negotiations to achieve better access and further liberalization in overseas markets. And IFSL facilitates access for our members to the international promotional activity of the Lord Mayor of London and the global UK diplomatic network of posts.

EUB: How many members does IFSL currently have, what are your membership targets and can you give examples of some of those organizations who are IFSL members?

Sir Stephen: We currently have some 130 members. The exact number fluctuates over time but the broad composition of our membership is steady. It spans all the main sectors of financial services doing international business from the UK and includes the largest companies as well as medium and smaller ones. For the future I aim to expand the membership by reaching out to foreign-based institutions doing international work from their bases in the UK, financial services practitioners working out of other UK cities than London and the newer businesses in private equity and derivatives trading.

EUB: What experience do you feel you have brought with you from your previous positions to your job as CEO of IFSL?

Sir Stephen: My diplomatic career has given me a range of top-level international contacts and enables me to represent IFSL's members to the top levels of public authorities in the UK, the City of London and internationally. I understand the international environment in which UK financial services businesses are operating. After many years of promoting the UK and its national interests in the international framework, it is a natural step for me to focus on doing the same work for this important and diverse business sector. I have also learned how to develop opportunities and build bridges for business success.

EUB: In the financial services sector what do you see as the areas of most importance looking forward?

Sir Stephen The emergence of the Asian economies and the increasing wealth of the energy exporting countries provide a clear focus for the future. UK-based businesses are developing their products and services in these markets and linking them to other markets. The City is developing its engagement with the emerging economies in order to remain the international market place of choice for them as well for as more traditional centres.

EUB:What do you feel are the threats posed to London as an international financial services centre and where do these threats emanate from?

Sir Stephen: The City would be disadvantaged by anything that impeded it from reaching out to the emerging economies with innovative products and flexible, efficient business processes. Other financial centres are keen to compete for the City's business, and we have to keep developing if we are to stay ahead.

EUB: What do you think London needs to do more of to keep a step ahead in the international financial services market?

Sir Stephen: We should continue to work on our strengths - the diversity, creativity and professionalism of the people working in our industry; the openness and efficiency of the UK market to attract new participants from the emerging economies; the continued trend to liberalize and open up new markets via international negotiations and autonomous decisions; and the continued development of an attractive, effective, reliable regulatory framework for financial services.

EUB: Do you have other outside interests/hobbies or how do you relax? If so, please give details.

Sir Stephen I have plenty of other interests, which is why I enjoy living in London so much : music, art, opera and going to the cinema are high on my list. Getting to know the history and buildings of the City of London is a newer interest. And I like to row with the London Rowing Club for relaxation and fitness.

This article appeared on EUBANKERS - to find other stories like this click www.eubankers.net/