Having left school at 15 with virtually no qualifications, Paul Mathews was heading up Julius Baer’s Guernsey and London branches by his mid-40s. But, as with many success stories, he credits his career to those he has worked with along the way, says Tom Bradshaw PAUL MATHEWS has always got a kick out of setting things up and establishing new initiatives.

He thrives on challenges and, once satisfied his work is done, moves on to the next.

He was the first to do corporate dealing in Guernsey in terms of looking after specific clients and their treasury needs.

The 51-year-old was also one of the founder members of the Channel Islands Forex Association and the Professional Dealing and Capital Markets Association.

Several times during his career he left secure and promising jobs to take on more challenging roles.

‘I would not be very good at a stable or defined type of role because I always want to try something new. I would soon get bored.’

He has headed Julius Baer for six years. When he started the operation, it represented less than 5% of the group’s assets. Within three years this grew to 20%.

‘I have hugely exceeded my expectations, but it has really been down to the team here. I might be the guy who sits in the big chair but really I am just one of 41 people. I have a saying that no one works for me, everyone works with me,’ he said.

‘Our business is all about relationships and they start in-house. Everyone can multi-task and do other colleagues’ jobs. We all roll our sleeves up and muck in and that is what makes us a success.’

He said it was phenomenal what the finance industry had achieved in three decades.

‘When I left school, perhaps two out of a class of 30 would go into finance and in those days it was only the big four – Midland, NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds,’ he said.

‘But in the last 35 years we have turned a whole generation of would-be fishermen, growers and farmers into finance professionals. I have been as good an example as any.’

He said Guernsey people had historically been resourceful and adaptable to change.

‘We have rivalled what Zurich has done in 300 years and London in 400. That is typical of Guernsey people,’ he said.

‘There are a few gloom merchants who seem convinced the industry’s days are numbered, but the island has always found a niche for itself and been very good at it and we will continue to evolve.’

Mr Mathews left school when the finance industry was just starting to blossom but ran as far away from it as he could and started work for Isle of Sark Shipping.

‘My dad was constantly drumming it into me that finance was where Guernsey’s future was going to be. But as a typical teenager, I thought, ﾓYou have got to be joking – I don’t want to be stuck in an office all dayﾔ.’

Down at the docks, he did everything from Customs clearance and shipbroking to ticketing, driving forklifts and loading ships.

‘It was a great time and taught me a lot about life,’ he said.

He discovered a passion for the sea, which still dominates much of his spare time.

Sadly, his father died when he was 20 and he had a rethink regarding his career. At 23 he took a job at Lombard and immediately found a flare for finance. In two years he rose from junior to senior financial representative.

‘Milton Brehaut was the boss at the time and he asked me, ﾓWhy should I employ a man from the docks?ﾔ and I replied that I knew personally all the local commercial operators that he financed,’ he said.

‘Milton agreed to give me a six-month trial and the rest is history.’

At 25 he was headhunted by Manufacturers Hanover Trust.

‘They told me they were fed up of me taking their business so I went and sold finance for them. I sat next to a guy who did mostly dealing and was always the first person to pick up his phone when he was out. I got my first taste of dealing and I loved it,’ he said.

But then one of his bosses discovered he was dealing more cars than selling finance and he was given an ultimatum. They would either fire him or make him a dealer.

He opted for the latter and spent the next 16 years dealing in foreign exchange and money market trading. He stayed at Hanover for five years, then spent two at Pierson, Heldring and Pierson as chief dealer and banking manager and almost a decade at Royal Bank of Canada as chief corporate dealer.

‘For a bloke in his late 20s and early 30s it was just so much fun. The dealing world prior to Nick Leeson was far more open. We were effectively speculating with hundreds of millions of pounds of the bank’s money. The level of responsibility was enormous. Who else gets that sort of freedom?’

Alongside dealing he did a lot of work with corporates, looking after their treasury needs, which introduced him to the business development side of the industry.

His next calling was to NM Rothschild and Son.

‘They were affected by the Barings crash as there was so much speculation they [the Rothschild family] were going to bail them out. I saw it as a real challenge,’ he said.

‘At the time their MD, Charles Tracey, similarly to Milton Brehaut, let me move away from one specific function and spread my wings.’

Lots of friends and colleagues told him he was mad to leave his promising career with RBC, but he craved the challenge.

In 1995, Mr Mathews was appointed treasury marketing manager and head of business development. His role was to help the business base and client relationships post-Barings-crash and implement a full development strategy, emphasising treasury and private banking.

The bold move paid off and he was very successful.

‘We built the business up and did a few things that Rothschild had never done before. It was a fantastic place to work for. In hindsight it has many similarities with Julius Baer as both were family-run operations.’

By 1998 he felt his work there was done and had itchy feet again.

He joined MeesPierson as senior manager of private banking to help manage the merger of Banque Belge with the company’s private unit.

‘It was a great opportunity I simply could not resist,’ he said.

At that stage Banque Belge managing director Roger Bailey announced he was taking early retirement but actually ended up taking over Julius Baer.

‘He asked me to come in as his number two with a mind to building me up as a successor. Again it seemed a challenge too good to pass up.’

But after just six months, Mr Bailey retired fully, leaving Mr Mathews in line for the top job.

‘He recommended me as the replacement and I found myself having lunch with group chairman, Raymond Baer.

‘Having only been there for six months, I didn’t think I had any chance of taking over and after a long but pleasant discussion I had to ask him who my new boss was going to be. He said, ﾓyouﾔ.’

Mr Mathews seized the opportunity to put Julius Baer on the map.

The bank is now at least 10 times bigger in terms of profitability and asset management and for the past four years has been one of the most successful branches in the group.

In September 2004 he was commissioned to also head the underperforming London office to work his magic there.

He set about a full reorganisation of its business development, marketing, investment management and operational platforms. He appointed a new private banking and business development team and moved the whole operation from East London to the West End. After two years of 90-hour weeks he felt his work there was done and his health was suffering. It was time to slow things down and enjoy some time outside of the office again.

Paul is married to Julie and has three children aged 28, 24 and 13.

He spends much of his spare time on the water on his six-metre Ocqueteau fishing boat. Another pride and joy is his classic Triumph motorbike with sidecar.

‘Julie and I enjoy doing our Wallace and Gromit impersonation.’

A few pints and the meat draw at the Wayside on a Saturday is also a weekly homage.

‘I might be a CEO but that really means nothing in the real world. You shouldn’t pretend to be anything you are not. Especially in Guernsey, because everyone knows you too well.’