Profile
“No matter how many clients I have, I make sure to call each one personally every quarter. It’s a chance to not only update them on their portfolio, but also check on how they’re doing personally”
Kelvin Rampersad,
Carte Wealth Management
Simon McConnell is a partner at Clyde & Co, chair of the APAC Board, and a member of the firm’s global insurance executive. He has a high profile in financial lines insurance, particularly in trade-credit cover, directors and officers claims, financial institutions blanket bond cover, professional indemnity, and fraud cases. He regularly acts in cyber attack, incident response, and breach coach roles.
McConnell joined Clyde & Co in 2012 and has been the Hong Kong managing partner for the past seven years until he was appointed to chair of the APAC Board at the firm in 2022. In addition, he was elected to the Council of the Law Society of Hong Kong in an open election of 11,000 members and is also a committee member of the Hong Kong Insurers Club.
This means he must be able to switch between multiple skill sets to carry out his daily priorities, which include:
· technical and legal excellence
· maintaining strong client relationships and understanding clients’ priorities and pressures
· law firm management and vision
· partner and staff engagement
· discharging regulatory responsibilities while promoting Hong Kong’s legal industry to the world
and for members’ benefit
“I address it by having express daily priorities and working with a multitude of impressive, dedicated people,” McConnell says of having such a diverse range of responsibilities.
For all his distinguished achievements, he regards his ability to communicate and bring people together as his strongest professional quality.
“The commercial world and legal profession are all about people. Building trusting bonds and deep and long-lasting relationships is the centrepiece of success,” he explains. “It is also creating value in the lives of everyone we work with, in all capacities. Empowering our teams and colleagues – trusting them, supporting them, connecting with them, and truly engaging them – is the magic potion. Combined, we are far greater than the sum of our parts.”
McConnell regards professional challenges and difficulties as opportunities for himself, his colleagues, and his firm to embrace.
“They should not be feared but respected and then approached boldly. This requires clarity as to our collective vision, short and long term, and leadership to implement, with clear direction and the requisite allocation of resources,” he says.
Another part of his ethos is to award his colleagues and team members autonomy.
“Micromanagement is the death of vibrancy and engagement, so a balanced and flexible approach to the parameters of our objectives is a core commercial philosophy,” he says.
Commenting on his approach to building such a sterling career, McConnell emphasises the need to be motivated and driven.
“Standing still or permitting others to direct our energies will rarely, if ever, enable us to achieve growth, and more than we expect is possible,” he says. “Each individual must proactively lead themselves certainly, me included.”
And he also highlights the pride and empathy he has for the workforce he represents at Clyde & Co.
“I am delighted to lead a cohesive force of creative, intelligent people to a better outcome for all involved,” he adds.
58/F Central Plaza, Wanchai, Hong Kong
+852 2287 2723
Simon.McConnell@clydeco.com
linkedin.com/in/simon-mcconnell-32183b50
clydeco.com
Simon McConnell
Partner, Hong Kong and Chair of APAC Board
Clyde & Co
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“I strongly believe in working smarter, not harder. I think it’s one of the keys to living a great life, and I want to share that with as many people as possible”
Kelvin Rampersad,
Carte Wealth Management
2012
2016
2020
2021
2022
Joined Clyde & Co’s Hong Kong office
2012
Became managing partner of Clyde & Co’s Hong Kong office
2016
Became a committee member of the Hong Kong Insurers’ Club
2020
Became a council member of the Law Society of Hong Kong
2021
Take on the role of chair of the APAC Board at Clyde & Co
2022
Suncorp Bank’s turnaround times are the lowest they have ever been. The lender becomes Australia’s first certified carbon neutral bank for both its operation and transaction services
Aug 2022
Milestones
Aug 2022
Milestones
Sept 2021
Feb 2022
Apr 2022
Jul 2022
Aug
2022
Suncorp Bank introduces Solar Home Bonus offer for customers who are choosing renewable energy for their homes
Sept 2021
Month-on-month market share growth commences
Feb 2022
Suncorp Bank wins the Canstar award for most outstanding value in investment loans
Apr 2022
Suncorp Bank wins Money Magazine’s Bank of the Year and Business Bank of the Year awards for the fifth year in a row
Jul 2022
Suncorp Bank’s turnaround times are the lowest they have ever been. The lender becomes Australia’s first certified carbon neutral bank for both its operation and transaction services
Aug 2022
Milestones