Luke Ellis (BSc 1985) received an honorary degree from the University of Bristol in recognition of his distinguished and impactful career in the City of London and his steadfast charitable work. He sat down to chat with us about his career, his time at Bristol and the advice he would give to future professionals.
An honorary degree from the University of Bristol, my alma mater, feels like a double pat on the back. I was both happy and really surprised to hear the news and am honoured by the recognition!
It was my Grandad who gave me an interest in numbers and patterns – he taught me how to bet on the horses. At some point I worked out from the odds that the bookie was always going to win, regardless of the outcome of the race. One of my best skills is pattern recognition, which has come in handy throughout my career. I knew I didn’t want to become a doctor like both of my parents, but the idea of being working with numbers stuck with me.
My time at Bristol
The stand-out part of my course was my introduction to macro-economics: it involves patterns, but it’s not a hard science with perfect answers, and it’s continuously relevant to understanding the world today. It has been a topic of fascination ever since I was a student. Once you can understand people’s incentives, you can understand and predict the outcome of almost every situation.
Outside of my studies, I was very active in two sports societies: cricket and skiing. I was involved in organising the society’s participation in national skiing competitions during my second year, which really helped develop my interpersonal and organisational skillset. One of the aspects of being a successful manager is being able to lead people by influence, and that aspect was developed at Bristol outside of the classroom.
Reflecting on my career
I have been fortunate enough that in between my skillsets, a lot of perspiration and hard work, I have had a very successful career – forty years of an upward trajectory at JP Morgan and as an entrepreneur, then finishing on a high at Man Group. Leading Man Group as CEO during the COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge that I never expected, but it was an interesting opportunity to use skills I found interesting intellectually.
… and my charity work
Stepping back from my career has enabled me to focus on my charity work and making a difference. It’s important to give back to society if you’ve been dealt a favourable hand. We focus on UK-based causes helping children and teenagers, wanting to improve the life chances for as many as possible. I am a trustee of Greenhouse Sports, which helps roughly 8,000 adolescents a year by teaching life skills (such as punctuality, presentation and team building) through sport. It helps them avoid gang culture and plot a positive path forward for themselves.
If I could share any words of wisdom…
I would advise current students to keep your eyes open to every opportunity, regardless of whether it aligns with any plan you’ve set yourself. I’ve never been a career planner – situations can change too quickly for that, and too much is dependent on other people and the business environment. I have always focused on doing my best in my current role and taking advantage of opportunities that arose. These opportunities are often things appear out of the blue, but they can boost your career significantly.
What would I say to future finance professionals? See above and don’t over-plan! A great thing about the industry is that it’s constantly changing. For a topical example: nobody knows how AI is going to change the working environment, and we must adapt to that. You need to show resilience, be able to adapt quickly and think creatively. Constant progress and constant evolution are what to strive for.