Episode 47 of The Investment Banking Leaders Club Podcast: Simon Mordant

Welcome to another episode of The Investment Banking Leaders Club Podcast, where we explore the ideas, experiences, and strategies shaping the future of investment banking, private equity, and leadership.

In this episode, our host Peter Nieberg speaks with Simon Mordant, Vice Chairman at Luminis Partners, whose career spans more than four decades in investment banking and includes building several successful independent advisory businesses.

Simon shares a candid perspective on what separates a good investment banker from a great one — and why the answer has far less to do with producing bigger pitch books and far more to do with listening, judgement and relationships.

Drawing on his experience building BZW’s Australian business, co-founding Caliburn and later Luminis Partners, Simon explores what it takes to build a durable advisory business, develop exceptional bankers and earn the trust of CEOs and boards.

For investment bankers, particularly VPs and Directors looking to move beyond execution and towards senior leadership, his message is clear:

The best investment bankers do not simply win deals. They win trust.

Great Investment Bankers Listen More Than They Talk

Investment banking is often associated with analysis, presentations and transaction execution.

But Simon argues that one of the most important skills is much simpler – Listening.

CEOs and CFOs often know what their problem is. They may even have an idea of what they want to do about it. What they do not always have is someone they can speak to openly and honestly.

That is where a trusted adviser can add real value.

Rather than arriving with a predetermined solution, the banker needs to understand what is actually on the client’s mind. That requires asking questions, probing carefully and listening to what is being said – and sometimes what is not being said.

Simon describes the role of the great banker as being closer to a problem solver than a pitch-book producer.

The objective is not simply to convince a client to pursue a transaction.

It is to understand the situation well enough to give the best advice — including telling a client not to do something when that is the right answer.

Some of Simon’s strongest client relationships, he explains, were built precisely through advising clients against taking action.

Trust is built when clients know your advice is not dependent on winning the mandate.

Why the 200-Page Pitch Book Can Miss the Point

Preparation matters. But Simon questions whether more preparation necessarily means more pages.

After four decades in the industry, he says he has never had a client tell him they needed a 200-page pitch book.

The problem is not the quality of the analysis. It is what the process can take away from the banker.

If a team spends enormous amounts of time producing presentation materials, there may be less time available for the conversation that actually matters.

Simon’s approach to a first meeting with a CEO or CFO is different.

Prepare extensively beforehand. Understand the company, its investors, analysts, board and strategic context.

Then walk into the meeting with very little documentation.

The objective is to understand what is really on the client’s mind, offer one or two thoughtful observations and leave the CEO thinking: “They have really thought about my business.”

That is what creates the possibility of a second meeting.

The lesson is not that pitch books are never useful. It is that the banker should not allow the presentation to become more important than the client.

From Execution to Origination: Build on the Relationships You Already Have

For VPs and Directors, one of the biggest challenges is making the transition from execution to origination.

Simon’s advice is to look at the relationships you have already built.

The people sitting around the transaction table today may become tomorrow’s CFOs, CEOs, M&A heads or board members.

A transaction can therefore be much more than a transaction.

But the relationship does not automatically continue when the deal closes.

Bankers often move immediately to the next mandate and lose touch with the people they worked alongside.

Simon’s advice is simple: Stay close to the people you have worked with in the trenches.

Have lunch. Keep in touch. Understand what they are doing next.

The relationship you build during a difficult transaction can become one of the foundations of future origination.

Execution can create the relationship. What you do afterwards determines whether it compounds.

Build Relationships Outside the Bank

Building a network does not have to mean attending formal banking events or constantly looking for potential clients.

Simon deliberately built relationships outside his immediate professional environment, including through organisations such as the Australian British Chamber of Commerce and the Committee for Economic Development Australia.

These settings created opportunities to meet CEOs and CFOs in a different context.

He also recalls approaching senior executives when he was still in his twenties and asking them for ten minutes of their time and advice.

Not everyone said yes. But many did. The lesson is important for younger bankers: do not assume senior people are inaccessible.

A thoughtful request for advice can open a door that a formal pitch never could.

Building relationships early also means developing interests and connections beyond the immediate transaction environment.

Over time, those relationships can become part of the network that supports an investment banking career.

Learn to Ask Why Before You Start Doing

Simon’s emphasis on listening starts much earlier than the CEO meeting.

He describes an early mentor who taught him an important lesson: before doing the work, understand why the work is needed.

As a junior, Simon would take extensive notes during meetings but was not expected to speak. Afterwards, he could ask questions and understand the objective behind the assignment.

That discipline helped him avoid one of the most common problems in investment banking:

Doing a lot of work before understanding the problem. For junior bankers and future leaders, the lesson is straightforward.

Before opening the presentation. Before building the model. Before starting the analysis.

Ask:

• What are we trying to achieve?

• Why does the client need this?

• What decision will this work support?

• What does the senior banker actually need to know?

Good execution matters. But understanding why the work matters is what starts developing judgement.

Build a Team That Can Become Better Than You

Simon’s experience building boutique advisory firms also shaped his approach to leadership.

His view of a successful advisory business is relatively simple: It is a combination of the team and the clients.

The challenge is therefore to hire, retain and develop the best people, and ideally help them become better than you.

For Simon, one of the most rewarding parts of leadership is seeing junior bankers progress and eventually become partners. That requires more than technical training.

People who thrive in entrepreneurial environments tend to be self-starters, curious, willing to learn and comfortable taking responsibility.

Simon also looks beyond someone’s CV when assessing entrepreneurial characteristics. Interests outside work, whether investing, volunteering, involvement in a start-up or participation in team activities – can sometimes reveal how someone approaches initiative and responsibility.

None of these activities is a requirement. The broader point is that leadership potential is not always visible on a résumé.

Meritocracy Means Recognising Different Paths

Simon also highlights the importance of meritocracy within an advisory business. Careers do not all develop at the same speed.

Some people progress quickly. Others take longer to find the area where they can create the greatest value. What matters is contribution and performance, not simply how quickly someone follows a predetermined career path.

For leaders, this means creating an environment where people can develop, contribute and be rewarded for the value they bring to the team.

The strongest businesses are not built by producing identical bankers. They are built by developing people into their own strengths.

The Hardest Leadership Decisions Are Often People Decisions

Building a team also means knowing when something is not working. Simon’s experience has taught him that many of the most difficult mistakes in business are people mistakes.

One recurring problem is waiting too long to act. A leader may already know that a person is not right for the role or the culture, but hesitate to make the change.

Sometimes the original hiring decision was made too quickly, particularly during a period of pressure.

Sometimes the individual simply does not fit the organisation. But cultural incompatibility is not always something that can be fixed through more time or management.

Simon’s experience is that people who leave the wrong environment can sometimes go on to thrive elsewhere.

The leadership lesson is uncomfortable but important – knowing something is not working and acting on it are two different skills.

Building a Boutique Requires More Than a Brand Name

Simon’s own career also demonstrates the risks and rewards of building an independent advisory business.

After helping build BZW’s Australian business, he moved to ABN AMRO before eventually co-founding Caliburn.

Caliburn was later sold to Greenhill. Simon and the core team subsequently went on to establish Luminis Partners. Each move involved uncertainty.

Leaving a large institution meant giving up some combination of salary, security and brand recognition. Clients could say they supported the new business, but that did not guarantee that mandates would immediately follow.

Building a boutique therefore requires confidence, but confidence alone is not enough. It requires a strong team, trusted client relationships and a willingness to accept uncertainty.

Simon’s experience also reinforced something important about independent advisory businesses: The institution may change. The relationships can remain.

Much of the team and many of the clients who followed Simon into new ventures had relationships that had been built over years. That is the real asset.

Build a Life Beyond Investment Banking

Simon also believes that bankers benefit from having interests beyond their professional lives.

Non-profit work, government boards, investing, sport, entrepreneurship and other outside activities can expose people to different perspectives and different networks.

Those experiences can make people more rounded, and potentially better advisers. They can also provide an important reminder that investment banking is only one part of a much broader world.

Simon himself continues to read widely, including biographies and autobiographies, and recommends authors such as Jim Collins and Adam Grant.

The underlying principle is simple: Good judgement is developed through exposure to more than one environment.

What This Means for VPs and Directors

For investment banking VPs and Directors looking to move towards senior leadership, Simon’s perspective points to a shift in mindset. The next stage is not simply about becoming better at execution.

It is about becoming someone clients trust with more important questions.

Start by strengthening the skills that sit behind that trust:

• Listen before offering a solution.
• Understand the client’s real objective.
• Ask why before starting the work.
• Stay close to relationships after the transaction.
• Develop relationships outside your immediate network.
• Build genuine sector and commercial knowledge.
• Give advice, even when the answer is not to transact.
• Develop people around you.
• Act when a team or cultural problem becomes clear.

The transition towards MD is therefore not simply a transition towards more responsibility.

It is a transition from being valued primarily for what you can execute to being valued for the judgement you bring.

A Simple Investment Banking Leadership Playbook

Simon’s experience can be distilled into a straightforward approach.

1. Listen First. Understand the client before deciding what you want to tell them.
2. Ask Why. Make sure you understand the objective before investing time in execution.
3. Stay Close. Relationships built during transactions should continue after the deal closes.
4. Bring Judgement. Give clients your honest view, including when the right advice is not to proceed.
5. Develop Others. Build a team where talented people can grow beyond your own capabilities.
6. Act on People Decisions. Do not allow an obvious cultural or performance problem to continue simply because making a change is uncomfortable.
7. Build Beyond the Bank. Develop relationships, interests and perspectives outside the immediate investment banking environment.

The principles are straightforward. Applying them consistently is what makes them powerful.

Final Thoughts

What stands out most from Simon Mordant’s career is that the foundations of successful investment banking have remained remarkably consistent.

• Listen carefully.
• Understand the client.
• Develop judgement.
• Build relationships that last beyond a transaction.
• Give advice that is genuinely in the client’s interest.
• And build people who can eventually become better than you.

For VPs and Directors, these lessons are particularly relevant. The move towards senior leadership is not simply about winning more mandates or managing larger transactions.

It is about becoming the person a CEO or CFO wants in the room when the answer is not obvious.

The person who asks the right question. The person who listens.

The person who can say, “I don’t think you should do this,” when that is the right advice.

And ultimately, the person whose value extends beyond the transaction itself.

Execution can build your career. Judgement, relationships and trust can shape your leadership.

To hear the full discussion, listen to the complete episode of The Investment Banking Leaders Podcast.