Executive Exchange: 12 questions with Cameron Harvey

NAME: Cameron Harvey

TITLE: Chief Executive Officer

COMPANY: Landmark Family Office

Cameron Harvey, CEO of Landmark Family Office, is a highly experienced banking and finance professional with over 20 years of industry experience across the Asia-Pacific region.

Cameron Harvey

Most recently, he served as managing director of a large Asia-Pacific multi family office with $2 billion under management.

In this light-hearted Q&A, Hong Kong-based Harvey tells us about the best professional advice he ever received, the biggest challlenge in his career and the investment he would pick if he could go back in time.

What was your very first job and what did you learn from it?

My first job was as a junior stockbroker at CommSec, which is the brokerage arm of the largest bank in Australia – Commonwealth Bank.

This was part of a cadetship-type programme where one worked in different areas of the bank, and they paid for you to study at the same time.

Everyone in the programme had to complete a three-month stint in the mailroom when they first began, and I was then moved to their margin lending division.

It helped me to develop a strong work ethic and develop communication skills with stakeholders throughout the whole bank and also their customers, from an early age. These have held me in good stead in my whole career to date.

What's the best advice you've ever received?

A couple of pieces of advice really ring true to me and I have seen consistent importance in following each of them through my career.

1. Be Persistent: Perseverance is often the key to achieving long-term goals. Stay determined and keep pushing forward, even when faced with obstacles and 2. Listen More Than You Speak: Effective communication involves active listening.

It helps you understand others better and builds stronger relationships and you learn a lot more!

What's been your biggest professional challenge and how did you overcome it?

I was hired to help setup and run the international team within the wealth management division of ANZ HK.

It was a new country, a new company and a new team with zero clients, starting from scratch, all at once.

That was an incredibly challenging time, learning so many new things in a new environment whilst also creating a successful business.

Sheer hard work and determination went a long way in overcoming these challenges.

During my five year tenure, I grew the business to 13 staff and $2 billion under management, so it was a great outcome and ultimately a wonderful experience.

What personal habits or traits do you think have been most important to your success?

Striving for consistency, maintaining curiosity, resilience, adaptability, networking and relationship building, accountability and empathy are some of the habits or traits I have tried to foster within myself – to varying degrees of success!

What's one commonly accepted piece of investment/management wisdom/ aspect of financial markets you wholeheartedly disagree with?

That all you need to do is buy a portfolio of ETFs and leave them.

Despite what is often marketed to investors, this is a risky proposition, and you are often taking on more risk exposure than you would think.

People see this as a cheap way to invest but the amount you can lose as a result of a lack of management and oversight and risk focus, you would have been better off paying for professional investment management from trained professionals.

On a scale from "savings account" to "cryptocurrency", how risky are your personal investment strategies?

Being an experienced market professional, I am comfortable taking on more risk than perhaps your average investor.

I’m also in the wealth building phase of my life so I can afford to ride out volatility and swings in the markets.

That being said, I monitor and manage risk very closely and I believe in diversification across asset classes to minimise correlations.

So, I may have a small holding in cryptocurrency, but I may also have a certain allocation to lower risk fixed income products and everything in between. 

How do you maintain work-life balance as a busy executive?

The reality is that you don’t ever stop thinking about your business.

But I have learnt to switch off and be present more often, particularly when with my family and friends. Travelling and exercising helps with this as well.

What's one piece of career advice you wish you could go back and tell your younger self?

It’s a marathon not a sprint…everything you do is for the long term from educating yourself and learning about your industry to relationships and work experience.

It all counts, and it all matters over the long term.

If you could go back in time and invest in any company at its start-up phase, which would it be?

Any of the magnificent 7 would do!

What's been your proudest professional achievement so far?

Building Landmark Family Office to where it is today, being able to attract and work with some of the brightest minds in the industry and gaining the trust and belief of some of the smartest and most successful people in the world, as our clients.

If you could switch careers tomorrow, what profession would you pursue?

CEO of Landmark Family Office!

What is the most important leadership lesson you've learned while leading your organisation?

As opposed to one particular lesson, I’ve learnt that several elements contribute to leading your organisation to success: trusting team members with responsibilities and giving them the autonomy to make decisions fosters growth and innovation.

At the same time, understanding and addressing the emotional needs of the team leads to better collaboration and a more positive work environment.

Finally, making decisions that are ethical and fair establishes a culture of integrity and trust within the firm.