Ken is the Head of Wealth Management at the investment management firm Neuberger Berman. He graduated from Geneseo with an Accounting degree in 1986. Ken has always been a huge support and mentor for Geneseo students and alumni, and he currently serves on the NYC Alumni Regional Committee. Lawrence Heath ('13) spoke to him about his career and asked his advice for current students and recent graduates. Top three “money” quotes from Ken: 1) “I’m a big believer that 80% of success is made up of attitude and effort, 10% is how smart you are, and the other 10% is luck.” 2) “Networking is very important, but it’s not always what the Geneseo alumni can do for you. Students must also be thinking how I can help the alumni.” 3) “If I introduce you to someone or help you get an interview somewhere, don’t take it for granted and make me look good." Can you describe your career path to your current position as Head of Wealth Management? To begin I’d like to say one thing, I had a couple of opportunities to leave Neuberger Berman’s finance department and to leave the company. Looking back sometimes the job that you don’t take is the better opportunity. There were people who would say to me, ‘you’re not going anywhere in Neuberger Berman because your boss is not going anywhere, and his boss is not going anywhere,' however both the assistant controller and my controller’ wound up leaving, and I got my boss’s job. So something that didn’t look like it was going to happen, happened for me. I decided to stay because I liked the company. I’ve always felt that it’s better to take a mediocre job in a really good company than a really good job in a mediocre company. So I looked at Neuberger as a firm that recognized talent and gave folks an opportunity to move up. Since Neuberger recognized talent, hard work, and work ethic, they decided to give me a shot to be the Head of Wealth Management. It didn’t come without its challenges, or its stumbles along the way, but at that point I looked at it as an opportunity to get closer to clients and take on a senior role within the organization. So, oddly enough I went from an accountant, to Chief Administrative Officer, to Head of Wealth Management, which I’ve been doing for just over six years now. What do you believe has led to your success? I’m a big believer in that 80% of success is made up of attitude and effort, 10% is how smart you are, and the other 10% is luck, simply being at the right place at the right time. I think, and I tell everyone that I talk to, I tell my own kids, that 80% of success is attitude and effort. I can’t repeat it enough. If you have the right attitude when you go into work every day, and put forth your best effort you’ll achieve success. What about Geneseo gave you the skills you need to excel in your career? The professors there were tremendous and gave every student a very well-rounded education. They gave students a good overview of the curriculum, but also made you think. Being successful is also being able to think on your feet, being able to sit in a meeting and add value, and Geneseo helped me do that. Aside from the professors, the atmosphere of Geneseo was a collegial environment where students helped students. Corporate America is very cutthroat, but when I’m hiring someone, I’m not thinking about them being successful on their own, I’m thinking about the individual I’m interviewing being successful on my team. So you want to hire folks that want to join a team environment and will help it thrive. What advice do you have for recent Geneseo graduates? Students coming out of school don’t know anything, so don’t think you know everything, in short be very humble. This is the same advice I give my daughter, I’m looking to hire someone that’s going to be on my team. I know that you just got out of college, so you don’t need try to impress me that you’re the smartest 20-year-worker that’s ever been out there. For folks that have been out of college for five or six years, continue to build out your resume, and with that I mean build out your pyramid. When you’re working to get to the top, you need to build skills such as client-facing, computer, and team based skills. Further, don’t take a job for the money; take a job to continue to build out your resume and skills, so you’re always improving. Tell us more about this pyramid idea. The pyramid is about getting to the top at some point in your career. You’re not going to get to the top of the pyramid in a year or two out of college, so you need to continue to build out skills, every day. With every job you should be adding to your pyramid, which will allow you have a good foundation to grow your career and keep you competitive in the job market. What specific advice about the job search do you have? When we have a job opening, we search databases and get lots of resumes. So your resume has to stand out in some way. For entry-level positions there needs to be accomplishments on your resume, and GPA is really important since firms will have a cutoff of 3.5 or greater to even be considered. Networking is very important, but it’s not always what the Geneseo alumni can do for you. Students must also be thinking how I can help the alumni. Lastly, if I introduce you to someone or help you get an interview somewhere, don’t take it for granted and make me look good. Contacting Ken Rende If you’re interested in contacting Ken please email Lawrence Heath at [email protected]. |