BT: Can we start with a brief introduction?

MK (Matthias Kuhlmey): Hi. It's such a pleasure to be here. My name is Matthias Kuhlmey. I'm the Chief Development Officer of Hightower, a firm in the financial advice industry.

BT: So, could you briefly explain your career progression?

MK (Matthias Kuhlmey): I joined Hightower 13 years ago, and I held very interesting, different roles. Today, I'm very focused on a consulting team that we actually have as a service to our financial advisors, helping them to identify organic growth opportunities.

BT: And, what attracted you to Hightower and its mission?

MK (Matthias Kuhlmey): It was sort of a perfect evolution-revolution. At that time, I was a financial advisor working for a large firm during the time of the financial crisis. And, during that time, I realized it was no longer really in the best interest of many clients to affiliate with certain firms and Hightower acted as this beautiful startup that actually looked at opportunities from the client perspective—that had a very strong message around the fiduciary element of financial advice. And, I thought this could be a very new wave of aligning interest and economics. And, that was sort of the reason for me to join that movement.

BT: So, how did Hightower navigate conducting its operations during the pandemic, what were some big adjustments of the company and to make?

MK (Matthias Kuhlmey): I actually think we did quite well during the pandemic. And, first of all, our firm is always referred to as a modular firm. We are not necessarily vertically integrated; we are modular; we are flexible. And, a lot of our solutions are curated with best-in-class, third-party choices. The second was sort of a management insight and forward-looking decision. We actually looked at the emergence of the pandemic outside of the United States. And, we actually started to sort of have little drills, even before things came to the United States and it became difficult. We had entire teams that we would rotate on a weekly basis that started working from home. So, when the actual time came, and things became very difficult, we were ready to go, in particular with our centers of New York and Chicago. And, we had a seamless transfer into sort of a hybrid world that still today is our operating mode.

BT: So what makes a company successful in adapting to different situations and environments?

MK (Matthias Kuhlmey):  Well, first and foremost, I think it is the building of Hightower. As I said before, we are not strictly, vertically integrated. We have the flexibility and are modern; we're modular, which I think most of today's solutions are. The second one is sort of the culture of employees of executive management and of our advisors. We all are aligned to actually move forward, not only as a company, giving the best financial advice to our clients, but also to be cutting edge and looking at the future of the business. So, in short, to me, it is a mindset that also has helped us really to succeed, especially in difficult and adverse times.

BT: What are a few things that you think make a strong, successful leader that can adapt to new changes?

MK (Matthias Kuhlmey): You know, I'm sure there are good general answers. At the same time, I look at my own leadership journey. And then, a couple of principles or that leadership toolbox that I have built, adapted over the years. And, a couple of crucial elements to me are, number one, to be a servant leader. Actually look out for where you can leave your mark, where you can support, and where you can bring someone forward, rather than thinking of what is in it for you. I think often, in many industries, not only in finance and at Hightower, we have so much focus on what is best individually rather than what we can collectively gain.

The second big principle is to treat the ego as an enemy. You know, ego at times will help us have a healthy aggression to move forward. But, at the same time. It comes at the cost of relationships. So, I think this is an enormous aspect. And, the last point is to lead yourself to a higher standard before you lead others. And, to me that was manifested really in an all-encompassing principle: take care of yourself in Mind Body Spirit, to be the leader that is open during times of stress and difficulties and can perform. 

BT: And, why do you think it's so important to be a compassionate leader specifically?

MK (Matthias Kuhlmey): Empathy is a beautiful concept. Empathetic leaders are more authentic. And, authentic leaders instill trust. And, when you look at the cornerstone of every company and community culture, trust is really the foundation of it. So, to me, it has become a personal practice to say I want to exercise and practice gratitude. Gratitude brings me empathy,  empathy to being a more authentic leader, and therefore, a more trustworthy leader. So, I guess it's a mini formula that I've applied. And I think it's important for everything we do at this conference to be connected to the theme of Community through Business. And, in Community through Business, there are different aspects of how to explore it. I think, to us, it's our obligation as a company to improve, first and foremost, the society and our society and culture we are in. And, when I look at Hightower’s history, we have done a lot of things in this respect. I mean, starting from the very origins of our company, leading with a fiduciary standard, aligning interests between our services, or the industry and our clients. The second aspect is how to build successful cultures. We have just embarked on what we call the “Hightower Way”, and completely redesigned our culture: commitment to each other, a mission, and high standards. we call it actually the high tower, high five in some aspects, it is incredibly important to have a commitment to these aspects. And to me, that's sort of, you know, helping, among other things, to shape a better community.

BT: What is some advice that you would give to students, people who are looking to get into the finance industry?

MK (Matthias Kuhlmey): My advice to students would be very simple. Knowing their skills, and the opportunity in this environment, which I think is drastically changing for the financial industry is looking at how you can bring your skill to an industry that needs to become more diverse, and more empathetic, but also move to a higher value proposition of holistic planning, technology overlays will become more important in an industry that actually changes from sort of an advisor lead experience to an experience that our clients will set. And, I think every aspect, every skill that can help to improve this story will be incredibly fundamental. On the other aspect, I follow this guru, Mr. Drucker, who has written great books, and, to me, it comes down to sort of the morals, the values and the ethics. How is it that I show up? Can I lead with a nice ‘thank you’ and embrace people in a friendly manner? What are my ethics? How do I want to show up? What is the person I want to see in the mirror in the morning, and then sort of the values that actually have to be done that is right and actually binds interests together? That would be my advice, and it's simple and I think it can be applied to not only finance, but many other industries and opportunities.