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December 3, 2007
This Week’s Boston’s
Future Leader
Bill Power
Title: Managing Director, Citi Markets & Banking
Company:
Citigroup
Education: B.S. – Boston College
A native of Framingham,
Bill’s first job out of college was selling life
insurance for Northwestern Mutual. He has worked
on the Institutional Equity Sales desk at Citi
(in Boston) for over 11 years, and currently
resides in the North End with his wife, Rebecca.
Bill is a big fan of the local Boston sports
teams and was the Big East Tennis Champion and a
walk-on quarterback while at Boston College.
PG: What is the
coolest part of your job?
BP: Working and
interacting with so many smart clients and
colleagues within the investment industry.
PG: If you were
recruiting someone to work for you, what would
be your number one selling point about Citi?
BP: The working
environment. I work on an open trading floor
with dozens of people seated close to me. You
might lack some degree of privacy, but you are
constantly engaged and able to learn something
new everyday.
PG: What is your
favorite thing about working in Boston?
BP: I love to travel,
but Boston is my home. I don't think there's
another city that offers the culture, history,
higher learning, geography, convenience, and –
at the moment – dominant sports teams that
Boston does.
PG: Favorite place to
take a client for lunch?
BP: Probably The Vault
or Houston's...
PG: If you could have
any job in Boston, other than your own, what
would it be and why?
BP: I'd probably want
to work in a new business development capacity
for a small company with a unique product. I
love sales, interacting with people and solving
problems for customers. If not that, I'd
probably want to teach high school history and
be a coach.
PG: Where do you see
yourself in 10 years?
BP: I'd like to be
running what was once the small company that I
started at in new business development and help
grow it into a big one.
PG: Favorite place to
relax after a long day or week?
BP: The cape, a golf
course or a tennis court...
PG: What’s the best
piece of career advice you have ever received?
BP: There are a couple
principles that have stayed with me from the
beginning of my career. "You can judge a man by
the company he keeps," "Find what it is you’re
passionate about and do it," And the importance
of a positive attitude.
I keep a quote [from Charles
Swindoll] about attitude on my desk and at the
end of my e-mail disclaimer: “ATTITUDE…The
Longer I live the more I realize the impact of
attitude on life. Attitude to me, is more
important than facts. It is more important than
the past, than education, than money, than
circumstances, than failures, than success, than
what other people say or do. It is more
important than appearance, giftedness or skill.
It will make or break a company…a church…or a
home. The remarkable thing is that we have a
choice everyday regarding the attitude we will
embrace for that day. We cannot change our
past…we cannot change the fact that people will
act in a certain way. We cannot change the
inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on
the one string we have, and that is our
attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what
happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And, so
it is with you…we are in charge of our
attitudes.”
PG: Best place for an
after work drink?
BP: At home with my
wife on our roof deck.
PG: Who do you admire
in the business world?
BP: Steve Jobs – He
was given up for adoption as a child, started
Apple, was forced out, came back to save the
company, beat cancer, and has gone on to create
a consumer icon. Everyone should read his 2005
commencement address to the graduating class at
Stanford.
PG: How can young
professionals expand their networks and increase
their impact in Boston?
BP: Volunteer – Give
your time to a cause you care about and you'll
be amazed at the great people you can meet.
PG: What reading
material is on your nightstand?
BP: The Kite Runner,
by Khaled Hosseini, Team of Rivals, by
Doris Kearns Goodwin, and The Wit and Wisdom
of Winston Churchill.
PG: Tell us something
we should know about you.
BP: My favorite
holiday is Thanksgiving – there are no
expectations, no lines, no returns and no lost
receipts. It's all about being with family.
____________________________________________________
For more information on the
Boston’s Future Leaders Program, please contact
Jody Kieval,
director of member services.
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