Filippo Gori reframes the narrative around the European Union, stating its primary purpose wasn't economic union but to prevent war. Economic integration was the mechanism to achieve this geopolitical goal, a perspective often lost in modern critiques of its economic performance.
After the "London Whale" incident cancelled a move to New York, Filippo Gori's wife immediately accepted a surprise opportunity in Hong Kong for the family, despite him never having been to Asia. It highlights how personal factors can drive pivotal career moves.
To counteract the bureaucracy of its massive size, JP Morgan's strategy is to make the company "feel small to our clients and to a certain extent to our employees." This ensures that its 330,000-person scale remains an advantage rather than a hindrance to agility.
Unlike firms that enter and exit markets based on performance, JP Morgan operates under the principle that "we have never left a single country since we entered it." This treats market entry not as a stock to be sold, but as a permanent obligation to stakeholders.
The rise of JP Morgan under Jamie Dimon wasn't just about vision, but the intense operational work of integrating a "conglomerate of institutions" from previous, incomplete mergers like Chase and Bank One. This disciplined execution was the real key to its success.
Filippo Gori emphasizes that Asia is not a single market. He describes it as a collection of diverse countries that happen to share a time zone, highlighting the vast differences in business culture between nations like Japan and Australia, which require different approaches.
Filippo Gori highlights the necessity of adapting leadership styles across regions. He contrasts London's understated communication, where things are implied, with New York's direct, "no mincing words" approach, emphasizing that a one-size-fits-all style is ineffective for global management.
Filippo Gori recounts the cultural stigma he faced moving to Hong Kong, encapsulated by the acronym "FILTH." This reveals a past cultural bias where Asian postings were perceived as a fallback for those who couldn't succeed in Western financial hubs.
Filippo Gori positions Africa as the next major global economic frontier due to its demographics and resources. He also frames Western engagement as a geopolitical necessity to counter Russian and Chinese influence and manage pressures on Europe's southern border.