THETRADETECH DA I LY
THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF TRADETECH 2018
AC
ADAM CONN
Man on a mission
Head of dealing at Baillie Gifford, Adam Conn,
shares the story of his career, his views on the fight
for equality across the financial industry, and the
importance of the buy-side’s fiduciary duty.
A
dam Conn is a decorated industry vet-
eran with a story to tell. Having worked
on both the buy- and sell-side throughout
his 30-year career, he has become one of the
most influential buy-siders in Europe and a
community voice of the profession.
Conn started from the bottom – as he
described it – but has earned his way to the
top through his work and reputation. He
points to his mentors and the opportunities
to have worked for buy- and sell-side firms as
having enabled him to build up his expertise
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THETRADETECH DAILY
and stature within the industry. In 1991, Conn
moved to Hong Kong with GT Management
to re-establish a buy-side trading desk where
he says it took time to adjust to the different
cultures, but this was something Conn says
he relished.
“In the very early days my boss Philip Ray,
who was the CEO of GT Management in
Hong Kong, took me into a room and said,
‘Don’t get too cocky just because you’ve come
out here from London. There are a lot of peo-
ple here who are good at what they do and
this is a small town so don’t go making any
enemies!’ I’m a great believer in embracing
different cultures and that was an oppor-
tunity to do so. It’s all been a constant but
enjoyable learning curve.”
It was during this time Conn worked for
Judy Dewinter, a very influential woman
in the industry who made her mark on his
career. He describes her as ‘the ultimate boss’
and that it was a sign of the times working for
such a powerful individual who was a wom-
an. “That was the first time I worked for a