GLEN MESCH
Things can go pear-shaped quickly, which is why teamwork and vigilance are crucial, the Perpetual Private WA State manager tells Ben Harvey.
Biggest or best career break?
Even though I have been in financial services for most of my working life, the opportunity to return to Perth, where I grew up, and lead Perpetual Private was too good to pass up. I sincerely believe that what we do for our valued clients is the right thing, no question. I have worked under current chief executive Geoff Lloyd for the past 10 years, first at Asgard as part of St George Wealth and then after the merger with Westpac and he encouraged me to apply for the role.
Describe your leadership style.
Contrarian. I don’t aspire to a lot of the traditions around leadership — times change and leaders must adapt. In addition to my industry experience, I’ve learned some valuable leadership skills from sport and life in general. I coached Australian Rules Football for more than 20 years, with a team of players much more talented than I ever was, but that is irrelevant as a leader. What’s more important is the direction you provide. Over the past 15 years I have become a student of anything ‘leadership’ and still to this day believe I have a lot to learn.
Most unusual job?
I worked as a pearl diver in Broome for Cygnet Bay and Paspaley Pearls in the early 1990s. In that role there is very little room for error and vigilance is key. Even without making any big mistakes, things can go pear-shaped quickly. That job brought a whole new meaning to the words ‘high performance’ and ‘teamwork’ and those are values that I’ve lived by ever since.
Best way to improve productivity?
Clarity. If the entire team is clear on why we are in pursuit of a particular task or goal and how we’re going to get there, then we will work hard to achieve it, seeking everyone’s commitment and rewarding them once we’ve kicked the goal. We take also professional development and performance very seriously at Perpetual and there’s a clear link between these. We have high expectations about the quality of advice that our team provides to our clients and we provide them with professional development support to be able to do that.
Favourite holiday destination?
Noosa. After living in Brisbane for nine years I love it there. I go back every November for the Noosa Triathlon — the biggest event of its kind in the southern hemisphere.
Do you use social media?
I use Facebook to keep up-to-date with the Tri club which I’m part of. Increasingly as a business we’re using LinkedIn as it’s a great way to share insights and connect with our alliance partners in particular.
Last book you read?
The Third Space by Adam Fraser and the Crossroad by Mark Donaldson. I am an avid reader of anything about leadership and the SAS — the ultimate test of high-performance environment and high stakes.
What do you do in your spare time?
I train for the long-distance triathlon. I also enjoy spending time with my family including my daughter Megan who started high school this year and my only grandson Khai.
Best travel tip?
Get some noise-cancelling earphones. I can work and watch a movie at the same time with these on.
Do you believe the Federal Government’s Future of Financial Advice reforms should be revisited?
I don’t think the reforms should be revisited as a concept, as the changes need time to take effect, but I do think there is still room for discussion around the fringes. If we go back to why the reforms were introduced, one of the objectives was to improve the trust and confidence of Australian retail investors in the financial services sector. Thanks to our deep heritage and fiduciary culture at Perpetual Private putting a spotlight on the need to increase trust in the financial advice sector is something we support.
