The Escalation Podcast

The Man Behind Cityboy (with Geraint Anderson)

What if some of the traits we claim to dislike are actually the ones we reward most? What if narcissism, ruthlessness, manipulation and a lack of empathy aren't flaws in the system but features of it? In this episode of ‪@escalationpodcast‬ I sit down with Geraint Anderson — former City insider, bestselling author of Cityboy, satirist, broadcaster and one of the sharpest observers of modern business culture. Nearly twenty years ago, Cityboy pulled back the curtain on life inside the Square Mile, exposing the incentives, ambitions, excesses and unwritten rules that shaped an entire generation of finance professionals. It became a cult classic because it didn't just describe the City - it translated it. Now, with his new book, How to Con Friends and Manipulate People: The Subtle Art of Being a Total Psychopath, Geraint turns his attention to a broader question: Have we built a world where some of our worst traits have become professional advantages? Together, we explore: • Whether industries like finance attract psychopathic traits or quietly cultivate them • Why some people rise to the top while others plateau • The difference between competence, visibility and power • Whether modern organisations reward the behaviours they publicly condemn • How incentives shape culture more than mission statements ever will • The hidden cost of ambition and success • Why the people who appear to be winning aren't always paying the lowest price • Whether the City has fundamentally changed since the days of Cityboy or simply become better at disguising itself • What young professionals should protect in themselves before high-performance environments start changing them This is a conversation about systems. About incentives. About the uncomfortable gap between what we say we value and what we actually reward. Most of us like to believe that success is a product of talent, hard work and good judgement. But what if the story is more complicated than that? What if some of the behaviours that make organisations successful are the same ones that quietly erode trust, relationships and culture? And what happens when an entire industry starts mistaking those traits for strengths? Funny, provocative, insightful and at times uncomfortably familiar, this is a conversation that will resonate with anyone who has ever worked in banking, finance, law, consulting or any high-performance environment.Geraint's new book How to Con Friends and Manipulate People: The Subtle Art of Being a Total Psychopath (already Amazon's number 1 bestseller) is out on 2nd July and available for pre-order now - https://amzn.eu/d/0iilKZap
Connect with Geraint: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/geraint-anderson-80602817
⏱ Episode Chapters
00:00 Introduction — The Man Behind Cityboy
01:54 From Cambridge Graduate to City Insider
04:08 Falling Into Investment Banking
09:48 Imposter Syndrome, Insecurity & Success
10:53 Fast Money, Bonuses & Identity
15:53 Writing Cityboy in Secret
18:08 How Cityboy Was Written
20:39 Are the Human Piranhas Still Winning?
24:36 Culture Programmes, Bonuses & Corporate Behaviour
26:34 The New Book: Corporate Psychopaths Explained
28:26 Is Banking Rewarding the Wrong People?
30:34 When the Job Changes Who You Are
33:36 Self-Promotion, Politics & Playing the Game
35:04 Do Psychopaths Rise to the Top?
37:57 Can the Good Traits of Psychopathy Be Useful?
40:04 Protecting Your Humanity in High Finance
42:01 The Golden Handcuffs Trap
43:11 Why So Many People Never Follow Their Passion
44:51 The Biggest Lie in Banking
45:44 Pressure, Escalations & Perspective
47:54 New Book Launch & Final Reflections

The Human Side of Leadership in Global Finance with Sol Kuckelman

On this episode of The Escalation Podcast, I’m joined by Sol Kuckelman, who most recently served as General Counsel for the Americas and APAC at Man Group plc, the world’s largest publicly listed asset manager - a role that placed him right at the intersection of financial markets, regulation, and strategy. We first crossed paths years ago when I was at Man, and I remember how clearly his reputation stood out - calm under pressure, commercially sharp, and known for balancing legal precision with commercial reality. A rare combination of emotional intelligence, clarity, and leadership. In this episode, we talk about what it really takes to deliver - and keep delivering - in roles of this scale. About leadership under pressure, the importance of emotional intelligence, and the lessons learned from navigating success and failure in high-stakes environments. I'm excited to share this incredibly thoughtful and grounded conversation with you. A huge thank you to Sol for bringing such depth, openness, and insight to this episode.Connect with him: https://www.linkedin.com/in/solomon-kuckelman/
⏱ Episode Chapters
00:00 Introduction — Who Is Sol Kuckelman?
01:35 Building a Career at Man Group
02:33 Why Sol Chose Law & Finance
03:21 What Lawyers Really Do
04:35 Early Days in Private Practice
05:55 Joining Man Group During the Financial Crisis
07:48 Letting Go of Perfectionism
09:39 AI, Emotional Intelligence & Modern Lawyering
11:16 The Skills Needed to Become General Counsel
13:36 Stakeholder Management & Building Influence
14:39 Managing Egos & Difficult Negotiations
17:14 Negotiation, Relationships & Getting to Yes
18:49 What Makes a Great Leader?
20:24 Developing Teams & Creating Growth Opportunities
21:35 Failure, Resilience & Learning From Mistakes
24:05 Commercial Awareness vs Legal Semantics
25:45 Sol's Biggest Career Successes
28:08 Why Culture & Conviction Matter
30:12 Did Sol Ever Want to Quit?
33:33 Is the Grind Still Necessary?
35:31 Grind vs Intentional Career Building
37:52 Career Advice for Aspiring Lawyers
40:48 Sol's Negotiation Playbook
43:25 The Future of Finance & Asset Management
47:11 What’s Next for Sol Kuckelman?
48:03 Handling Pressure, Crisis & Escalations
51:49 Final Reflections & Closing Thoughts

Climbing Through the Ranks with Pascale Lebaillif

On this episode of The Escalation Podcast, I’m joined by Pascale Lebaillif - a woman who’s lived at the very heart of global finance and now reshapes how leaders rise within it. Over two decades, Pascale climbed through the ranks of the world’s most powerful institutions - Crédit Agricole CIB, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and J.P. Morgan - leading global teams, steering strategy, and shaping the leadership pipelines that define corporate success. Today, she channels that hard-earned experience into her work as a Professional Growth Coach, guiding ambitious women to cut through the noise of corporate life, build real influence, and claim the recognition they’ve worked for. Beyond coaching, she’s also Partner and COO at Susten, an investment firm driving innovation in renewable energy. In this conversation, we uncover what it really takes to move from potential to power: the politics, the presence, and the mindset shifts that separate those who rise from those who stall.Connect with her: https://www.maximumpotentialcareers.com/
⏱ Episode Chapters
00:00 Introduction — From Global Finance Executive to Career Coach
02:17 An Unexpected Start — Why Pascale Studied Law Instead of Medicine
03:30 Breaking Into Banking & Finance
04:49 Early Career Lessons & The Power of Supportive Teams
06:32 Career Turning Points — Morgan Stanley, London & New Opportunities
08:32 Building Teams & Learning Leadership at JP Morgan
10:45 The Mindset Shift Needed to Climb the Corporate Ladder
13:13 Women in Finance — Ambition, Perception & Double Standards
15:50 Work-Life Balance, Trade-Offs & Building a Support Network
19:30 Why Women Undersell Themselves
20:42 The “Good Girl Syndrome” & Confidence Challenges
21:38 Confidence vs Courage — The Key to Career Growth
22:43 Why We Chase Success & What Really Matters
24:13 Navigating Career Expectations from Family & Society
26:10 Is the Grind Essential for Success?
27:52 A Day in the Life of a COO
29:12 Focus, Productivity & the Pomodoro Technique
30:26 Remote Work vs Office Life — Where Do We Learn Best?
33:32 Managing Pressure in High-Performance Environments
35:04 Setting Boundaries Without Damaging Your Career
37:02 Building Confidence Through Action
38:34 Escalations, Conflict & Leadership Under Pressure
40:49 How Great Managers Handle Difficult Situations
42:14 Trust, Collaboration & the Human Side of Business
42:54 Self-Promotion Without Feeling Like You're Bragging
45:19 Final Reflections, Career Resources & Where to Find Pascale

The Language of Corporate Emails

Corporate emails: the rules everyone knows, but nobody writes down … and the ones that can make or break your career. From CAPS LOCK panic to CC chaos, “Quick Question” subject lines that are never quick, and the dreaded “As per my last email”, this episode of The Escalation Podcast dives into the unspoken rules of email culture. We all know it’s not just what you write — it’s how people read it. A full stop feels cold. A smiley face feels sarcastic. And sometimes, silence feels louder than any reply. In this witty but insightful breakdown, I’ll explore: - Why email isn’t just communication — it’s interpretation. - The 10 unspoken rules of corporate email culture. - How perception (and the “perception bubble” ‪@jayshetty‬ talks about) shapes our inbox anxiety. - Why sometimes an email is just text on a screen … and sometimes, it’s corporate theatre in 11pt Arial. If you’ve ever hit Reply All by mistake, fallen for the recall button placebo, or overthought a “Thanks,” this one’s for you. 🎧 Listen in and laugh at the chaos — because in the end, the only power an email really has … is the power you give it.⏱ Episode Chapters00:00 Corporate Email — The Most Dangerous Language at Work00:51 Why Emails Matter More Than We Admit02:00 The Emails That Shape Your Reputation03:26 Overthinking Tone, Timing & Perception03:45 CAPS LOCK Means War04:02 The CC Chain of Doom04:31 Weaponised Email Timing04:57 Subject Line Psychology05:25 The CC Olympics & Reply All Chaos06:00 Formatting as Passive Aggression06:19 Email Signatures & Corporate Identity06:54 The Ghost Emailer & The Power of Silence07:28 Attachments — The Bermuda Triangle of Email07:53 The Corporate Passive Aggressive Dictionary08:22 Why Email Is Really About Perception09:00 Don’t Take Your Inbox Personally09:33 Awareness, Sanity Filters & Final Thoughts

What it Takes to Lead 300 Lawyers Across 3 Continents with Simon Welch

Few leaders leave a mark on your career forever — Simon Welch is one of them. His CV is remarkable: senior roles spanning private banking, asset management, and investment banking. Most recently, he served as Global Head of Legal Sustainability at Credit Suisse AG, shaping the bank’s ESG strategy. Before that, he led global legal & compliance teams supporting more than 18,000 employees worldwide. Behind every big institution are leaders who quietly move the industry forward — Simon is one of those rare people. On this episode of The Escalation Podcast, we talk about what leadership at scale really means, navigating high-stakes decisions, and a few personal stories from our time working together. This one feels full circle for me — and I can’t wait to share it with you.Connect with him: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-welch-law/⏱ Episode Chapters
00:00 Introduction — Who Is Simon Welch?
01:22 Why Law? Simon’s Early Ambition
02:35 First Jobs & Learning to Deal With People
03:16 From Criminal Law to Banking & Finance
04:37 Breaking Into the Legal Profession
06:44 From Lecturer to Banking
08:24 First Days at Credit Suisse
10:01 Is Banking & Finance Worth It?
11:12 Managing 18,000 People
12:10 The Reality of the Grind
13:13 Building Culture & Leading Teams
15:13 Grind vs Hustle
15:52 The Cost of High Performance
17:27 What Makes a Great Leader?
18:02 Values, Difficult Decisions & Knowing When to Leave
20:07 Pressure, Stress & Banking Culture
22:46 Culture, Relationships & Lasting Impact
23:22 A Day in the Life of a Global General Counsel
24:51 Why Approachability Matters
25:36 Developing People & Future Leaders
26:35 Great Bosses vs Terrible Bosses
27:27 Career Growth & Escaping Pigeonholes
28:11 Creating Opportunities Through Hustle
29:22 Banking Culture, Diversity & Industry Challenges
31:36 Three Words That Define Banking
33:19 Credit Suisse Reflections
33:31 A Memorable Escalation
36:56 What’s Next for Simon Welch?
39:42 Final Reflections & Closing Thoughts

Hustle Culture in Banking & Finance

Is Gen Z breaking the hustle culture? For decades, we were taught to measure ambition by hours worked, emails sent, and meetings survived. But a new generation is flipping the script: freedom, flexibility, and purpose now outrank burnout-as-a-badge.If hustle was engineered to keep us running, maybe the real success is in choosing when and why we run at all.⏱ Episode Chapters 00:00 Introduction — Your First Week at a Top Tier Bank 00:52 Welcome to The Escalation Podcast — The Grind Culture Episode01:30 Edyta's Confession — Knowing the Grind Intimately 02:06 The Entrepreneurial Trap — When the Hustle Shapeshifts 02:50 How Grind Culture Was Engineered — Wall Street to the City 03:50 The Pandemic Intervention — Remote Work & the Grind Morphs05:20 The Grind Is Back — Fiercer and More Unapologetic Than Ever05:55 Enter Gen Z — The Generation Rewriting the Rules 07:04 Why Do We Keep Grinding? The Fear Beneath the Hustle 08:25 The Solution — Sustainability Over Scarcity 08:54 Why the Early Grind Was Solid Gold — Edyta's Immigrant Work Ethic 09:41 Home vs Office — It's Not a Binary Choice 10:13 When the Grind Is a Catapult, Not a Curse 10:48 Grind With Purpose — Choose Your Room 11:03 Closing Thought — Make Sure It's Your Wheels Turning

Relational Capacity: The Missing Link to Thriving (with Kerry-Lyn Stanton-Downes)

Your body knows before your brain does. The meeting hasn't started, but something in the room already tells you it's not safe to speak.In this episode, I sit down with Kerry-Lyn Stanton-Downes - relationship psychotherapist, advisor, TEDx speaker, and author of the forthcoming "Beyond Words: How to Lead People from Survival to Success" (May 2026) - to explore why workplace mental health can't be fixed with individual coping tools alone.Kerry-Lyn's work centers on a powerful idea: the brain is a relational organ, and psychological safety isn't something leaders declare - it's something people experience in the space between them.This conversation moves away from frameworks and into something more familiar, but rarely named.Together with Kerry-Lyn, we explore:• Why your nervous system reacts before logic has time to catch up • How people adapt their behaviour in real time depending on the room they’re in • Why “high performance” often sits on top of unspoken tension and misalignment • The difference between what organisations say about culture and what people actually experience • Why many workplace challenges labelled as “individual issues” are, in reality, relational dynamics playing out • What happens to communication, trust, and decision-making when relational safety breaks down • And why the most important leadership skill isn’t technical, but something far less visibleThis is not a conversation about fixing people. It’s about seeing the system - and our place within it - more clearly.We're living through something most of us can feel but few are naming. What Kerry-Lyn calls "relational poverty". Not only in workplaces, but in all the spaces in between us.We're more connected than ever, surrounded by an endless flow of information, yet somehow the human gets forgotten. The relationships we often glorify - because they fill a certain void - feel weaker than ever. The quality of our connection is measured in likes, views and follows. And its not because we're not capable. It's because we've been focusing on the wrong kind of connection.The future exists - between us.Connect with her:
Website: www.berelational.co.uk
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-lyn-stanton-downes
Substack: Kerry-Lyn Stanton-Downes | Substack
Newsletter: https://www.berelational.co.uk/#newsletter⏱ Episode Chapters 00:00 Introduction — Who is Kerry-Lyn Stanton-Downes? 01:35 Mental Health in High Performance — Why Spending Isn't Working02:26 Relational Poverty — The Real Root of the Crisis 04:22 Emotional Intelligence vs Relational Intelligence 05:13 Kerry-Lyn's Origin Story 06:50 The Brain as a Relational Organ 08:20 Patterns in High Pressure Environments 10:31 What Makes a Good Leader Today? 11:27 AI & the Relational Competitive Edge 13:27 Fixing vs Reorienting Organisations 16:29 Bridging the Generational Gap 17:19 The Eight Principles of Relational Capacity 24:17 Most Leadership Challenges Are Relational, Not Transactional 25:50 Three Practical Steps for High Stakes Meetings 27:29 Kerry-Lyn's TEDx Experience 30:03 "The Future Exists Between Us" 31:55 Beyond Words — The Book 35:14 Reading the Room — Beyond the 10% of Words 38:06 Thinking, Emotion & Body — The Three Functions 43:00 How to Expand Your Relational Capacity 46:31 Managing Emotional & Transactional Team Members 49:46 Listening vs Hearing 50:24 Escalations & Relational Capital 52:07 What Is Your Escalation Really in Service Of?

Derivatives Expert Allan Yip: 30 Years Inside the Industry

In this episode of The Escalation Podcast, I sit down with Allan Yip, a derivatives lawyer whose career spans more than three decades across private practice and global investment banks.
 
Allan began at the Bar before moving into banking and finance law at Clifford Chance during the industry’s expansion years. He later moved in-house at JPMorgan Chase and Bear Stearns, experiencing first-hand the shockwaves of the 2008 crisis, before returning to private practice as a partner at Simmons & Simmons.
 
He was at Bear Stearns when it collapsed.He was advising clients when Lehman Brothers fell.And he went on to build a leading buy-side derivatives practice during one of the most heavily regulated periods in financial history.
 
This is a conversation about defining moments and what they reveal.
 
We discuss:
The realities of moving between in-house and private practice
Why regulation is always reactive
How negotiation is won through mindset, not ego
The discipline of answering the question, not hiding behind “it’s standard”
Managing escalation without retaliation
Leadership that invites challenge rather than demands agreement
 
At its core, this episode is about longevity- what it takes to sustain a career in high-pressure environments without losing perspective, professionalism, or humility.
 
A huge thank you to Allan for sharing not only his technical insight, but the principles that shaped a remarkable career.
 
About Allan Yip: 
Allan is a specialist in prime brokerage, derivatives, derivatives regulation and structured products. He advises hedge funds and institutional asset managers on all aspects of their trading relationships with market counterparties, including prime brokerage arrangements, derivatives documentation and broader trading agreements.
He also provides specialist regulatory advice on derivatives and trading matters, including EMIR, SFTR, BRRD and BMR. Allan is a regular speaker and panelist at industry conferences, including those organized by International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) and Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), where he shares insight on derivatives markets and regulation.
 
Connect with him: 
LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/allanyip/?originalSubdomain=uk
 
⏱ Episode Chapters
00:00 Introduction – Allan Yip’s 30-Year Legal Career 01:00 From the Bar to Banking Law 02:00 Growing Up & Falling Into Law 04:00 Joining Clifford Chance & Discovering Derivatives 06:00 Career Positioning & Work-Life Balance 09:00 The 2008 Financial Crisis – Bear Stearns & Lehman Collapse 12:00 Rebuilding After the Crisis 15:00 In-House vs Private Practice 17:00 Has the Industry Learned Since 2008? 20:00 Service, Humility & Career Lessons 23:00 Best Advice: “Great Change Comes Great Opportunity” 25:00 Why You Should Never Burn Bridges 26:00 Secrets to Successful Negotiation 29:00 Sun Tzu & Strategic Concessions 31:00 Handling Escalations Under Pressure 35:00 What Makes a Great Leader? 38:00 Final Reflections & Closing Thoughts
 

Managing Upwards - Escalate Your Career by Mastering the Power Dynamic

In January 2025, Forbes named managing upwards the number one skill for surviving—and thriving—in corporate life.
 
And they were on to something. Your career isn’t built on output alone; it’s built on perceived value — on how effectively you translate your work into the language leadership understands and responds to.
 
In this episode of The Escalation Podcast, I unpack the art of managing up.
 
You’ll learn:
💡 How to build influence and credibility with the people above you.
💡 The 5 expert-backed tactics for managing up without kissing up (from HBR, Forbes, and Cambridge).
💡 How to map the real power structures in your organisation — the shadow networks that actually move decisions.
💡 And why visibility isn’t arrogance, it’s career currency.
 
Managing the management isn’t about pleasing people.
It’s about strategy, emotional intelligence, and owning your narrative.
 
If you’ve ever felt unseen, unheard, or underestimated — this episode is the spark your career needs.
 
 
⏱ Episode Chapters
00:00 – The Anxiety of Managing Up
01:00 – Why Managing Up Is a Career Superpower
01:30 – Lessons from Credit Suisse
02:30 – Influence vs Technical Skill
03:00 – Perceived Value vs Performance
04:00 – The Danger of Invisibility
05:00 – Aligning With Management’s Agenda
05:30 – 5 Tactics to Manage Up
06:00 – Adapt to Leadership Styles (incl. Man Group)
07:00 – Strategic Questions & Visibility
08:00 – Emotional Intelligence in Power Dynamics
09:00 – Understanding Real vs Official Power Structures
10:30 – Managing Up at Senior Levels
11:30 – Final Reflection: Who Owns Your Narrative?

Leadership, Pressure and the Human Cost of High Performance with Tom Ungi

At some point in your career, success stops being about capability
and starts being about capacity.
 
Capacity to think clearly.
Capacity to lead.
Capacity to stay grounded under pressure.
 
In today’s episode of The Escalation Podcast, I sit down with Tom Ungi to explore what really sits behind performance in high-pressure environments - leadership, identity, resilience, and the human cost of always operating at the top.
 
This is not a conversation about frameworks or surface-level optimisation.
 
Tom brings a rare perspective shaped by nearly two decades inside elite finance, including his time as Managing Director and Head of Trading at Millennium, where he helped scale the business across Europe and the Middle East. He understands first-hand what sustained pressure, responsibility, and decision-making at the highest level actually demand.
 
Today, as Co-Founder and CEO of True Partnership, Tom works with hedge fund leaders, traders, and senior executives who want more than short-term performance. His work blends direct, results-driven methodologies with a deeply relational and empathetic approach - grounded in lived experience and academic research, including doctoral work on leadership and trauma.
 
This is one of those conversations that stays with you long after it ends.
 
Get to know Tom Ungi:
Tom Ungi is Co-Founder and CEO of True Partnership and a former Managing Director and Head of Trading at Millennium, where he spent nearly 20 years leading growth across Europe and the Middle East. Now an executive coach, Tom helps leaders challenge assumptions, navigate complexity, and drive meaningful results. 
He holds an MSc in Executive Coaching and is pursuing a doctorate focused on leadership and trauma.
 
Connect with him:
Website: https://truepartnership.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truepartnership
 
 
 
⏱ Episode Chapters
00:00 Introduction – From Millennium to Coaching
02:00 Alpha vs Self-Awareness
03:45 Why Awareness Requires a Pause
05:00 The Pivot: From Trading Floor to Coaching
07:55 What Coaching Really Is (Developmental, Performance, Transformational)
10:22 Emotions in Finance & Psychological Safety
13:39 Values Under Pressure
16:03 Patterns That Block Promotion
19:14 Why Hard Work Stops Working at Senior Level
21:55 Imposter Syndrome – Lean Into It
24:38 Burnout & Hidden Stress Signals
27:02 Leadership Responsibility & Awareness
28:07 The Desire to Be Liked in Finance
29:06 Losing Yourself to Fit In