“I had been with a rather large institution, JP Morgan, for quite a number of years,” Robert Steele began, when asked about what drew him to EDB. “After 16, 17 years, it’s a good time, if the opportunity arises, to reflect.” Steele spent over 16 years at JP Morgan Chase & Co. in Luxembourg, holding various senior roles. His most recent position was as Luxembourg head of depositary services oversight.
“I actually had a pause and spent some time with my own family, with my children, for the best part of a year. That was in 2021,” explained Steele. “Towards the end of that year, I started having a look at what was out there in the marketplace. And the Apex story definitely caught my attention.” He mentioned the many acquisitions the Apex Group has made, as well as the transitions that the group is undergoing and the evolutionary steps that they’ve been going through to rebuild the management team, as factors that drew him to EDB.
“What is Apex? What does it mean?” These were questions that Jean-François Thils asked himself when he was considering the role. Looking at the group, he said, “I saw a very fast-paced, fast-growing organisation.” Furthermore, EDB is looking forward to the future and what a bank within a large group could mean for the group itself.
Coming to an organisation which is much, much, much more horizontally organised and flat in terms of structure is also very appealing.
“Moving from the Bank of New York, which is very traditional, with a large number of lines of management, and coming to an organisation which is much, much, much more horizontally organised and flat in terms of structure is also very appealing,” said Thils. He has worked in Luxembourg for 23 years and is joining EDB from BNY Mellon, where he was most recently head of EMEA Transfer Agency Technology. “It also gives the opportunity to see other aspects and elements.”
Thils mentioned another attractive element, which relates to the fact that EDB is an acquisition that Apex Group made a couple of years ago. “There was also a strategic decision to modernise the technology element, opening up a transformation programme,” said Thils. “We could create something that would position the bank, through technology obviously because that’s my remittance, that would allow for synergies and market advantage.”
Evolving into a more international organisation, on a human level and a company level
Both Thils and Steele mentioned that they are bringing their experiences from larger institutions to their new roles at EDB, supporting the company in its growth.
The flatter organisation and greater autonomy are attractive, stated Steele, as well as the group’s evolution into a more international organsiation by acquiring other entities. “By virtue of just acquiring, yes, it gets the status, but it’s how you ensure that you’ve got the right culture, the mindset, the infrastructure,” Steele said.
We’re here to also help the organisation change, to provide a platform for individuals to continue their growth.
“It’s really about changing the model from operating locally to operating through a wider organisation,” said Thils. “I think at this moment in time, we are really at what I would call a tipping point. We had a large acquisition in 2022 with Sanne, and I think now we are more than 10,000 people.”
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“We’re helping individuals on that journey of that transformation, you know, and also helping bolster by bringing in new people as well, at various different levels. We’re here talking about our, sort of, executive level, that’s fine,” said Steele. But they’re interested in the grassroots level as well.
“We’re here to also help the organisation change, to provide a platform for individuals to continue their growth, whether it be recent hires made from internships, from people just out of university, all the way through the food chain, so that we’ve got the right skills, the right people, and providing them the right platform for their success as we continue to grow the business,” said Steele.
Something personal you’re bringing to the organisation?
“For myself, it’s my iPad,” said Thils. “I’m scribbling a lot, so it’s my way of memorising things and connecting the dots between things. In the past, it was paper. So I’ve moved now to digital, as a technology-savvy person. For me, it’s very important to have it with me all day long.”
“When you’re trying to take people through things and make them understand, I revert back to some of my artistry that I used to have at high school,” said Steele. “I like to draw, and I much prefer visuals. So you know, I’ll get a flip chart out, I’ll get a whiteboard out, I just feel that helps to bring people on a journey.”
“It’s all about sharing information,” Steele finished. “You want to spread that knowledge as easily, as quickly as possible, and what better medium than the pen and paper, so to speak.”
Thils and Steele join EDB CEO David Claus and managing director Holger Barth as members of the bank’s executive management board. David Rhydderch, previously a member of the executive management board, is stepping down and becoming a member of the board of directors of EDB and global head of financial products and managing director, EMEA for the Apex Group.