A Story of Rebuilding
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A Story of Rebuilding An Interview with Howard W. Lutnick, Chairman and Chief Executive Offi cer, Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. and BGC Partners, Inc. EDITORS’ NOTE In addition to his The markets are uneven with big trophies that are targets of the giant in- leadership of Cantor Fitzgerald, great opportunity and substantial risk vestment banks. Our aspiration was and is to Howard Lutnick is also Chairman coexisting. transact for our clients and to excel in serving and Chief Executive Offi cer of lead- The low interest rate environ- the middle market. ing global brokerage company, ment has made certain businesses That model requires us to have a much BGC Partners, Inc. He also served more viable and attractive than oth- larger sales force than the largest fi nancial fi rms, as Chairman, President, and CEO erwise would be the case, and at the because Cantor’s strength in distribution means of eSpeed, Inc., which merged with same time has constrained other busi- we bring value to both sides of a transaction. BGC in 2008. Lutnick guided the nesses. That cannot be a long-term We’re not in the business of taking risk and hop- rebuilding and growth of Cantor equilibrium. ing the markets go up. Our business is servicing Fitzgerald following the firm’s With the kind of issuance and our clients and meeting their needs, not trading tragic losses in the 9/11World Trade debt the country has, how can interest for ourselves or against them. Center attacks, and its care and Howard W. Lutnick rates not explode higher? They will, Therefore, we weren’t trying to market se- support of the families of its 658 em- eventually. But the economy’s weak- curities in 2008 that proved to be toxic to so ployees who perished, providing the families with ness means they will stay low for the foresee- many others and weren’t making subprime more than $180 million and 10 years of health able future. loans to people who could not pay them back. care. He graduated from Haverford College in Technology enterprises with exciting up- It became diffi cult for some of the larger 1983 with a degree in economics and joined side are attracting venture capital, since the cost players to transact business in the kinds of prod- Cantor Fitzgerald. He was named President of keeping money on the sidelines makes en- ucts they owned, because their ownership had and CEO in 1991 and Chairman in 1996. He tertaining those kinds of investments easier. A come at too high a price. They became unwill- is a member of the boards of Haverford College, number of tech start-ups are becoming visible ing and unable to conduct transactions in those Zachary and Elizabeth M. Fisher Center with new investment in interesting disruptive assets because they’d have to mark them down for Alzheimer’s Disease Research, Intrepid business models. Entrepreneurship and entre- at a loss. Museum Foundation, National September 11 preneurial business models are well received in We were able to focus on and take care of Memorial & Museum, Solomon R. Guggenheim this environment. our clients’ needs without the necessity of trying Foundation, and the Partnership for New York So funding for good ideas is available now to protect ourselves, which is why Cantor did so City, and received the Department of the Navy in a way that otherwise might not be expected. well in 2008 and 2009 and why we have such a Distinguished Public Service Award. At the same time, businesses that are clas- great business now in the middle market. sically driven by overall economic strength are We are not seeking to fi ll the shoes of Bear COMPANY BRIEF Cantor Fitzgerald making their numbers only by cutting. That’s Stearns and Lehman Brothers. Because Cantor (www.cantor.com), begun in 1945 as an in- what continues to put lackluster jobs reports Fitzgerald seeks to be extraordinary in its sin- vestment banking and brokerage business, be- back in the headlines. gular place in the market – a positioning that came known for innovation in computer-based How was Cantor positioned during the means we are smaller than the big guys but bond brokerage and as the market’s premier global economic downturn? much bigger than any small player – there is dealer of government securities. Today, Cantor 2008 and 2009 were intensely diffi cult pe- plenty of room for us to grow and build. is the leading independent middle market in- riods for fi nancial companies that owned assets During the boom days, many on Wall vestment bank primary dealer, recognized for in the musical chairs world of “buy something Street were attracted to the big players. Did its institutional equity and fi xed income cap- beyond its reasonable value with the expec- that make it challenging to attract the talent ital markets services, investment and merchant tation to sell it to someone else beyond your you needed or is the message out about the banking, prime brokerage, and commercial original price and its intrinsic value.” opportunities you offer? real estate fi nancing, as well as gaming tech- That was true not only for Wall Street but We have hired great leadership and grown nology, e-commerce, and other new businesses. with respect to the housing boom and subse- great talent across the board. BGC (NASDAQ: BGCP) is a leading global bro- quent downturn. A huge volume of housing The markets in 2008 and 2009 gave us an kerage company primarily servicing the whole- was built with the impractical perspective of “I extraordinary opportunity to hire seasoned sale fi nancial markets across a broad range of can build it to sell to someone else who will professionals who previously had been in fi nancial products. BGC has announced it plans resell it.” This supposed value spiral did not large fi nancial institutions. Cantor’s model be- to acquire the U.S. business of Newmark Knight equate to a core market that was being ratio- came extremely attractive, as they knew they Frank, a leading real estate advisory fi rm. With nally served. could do business without being exposed to 50 locations around the world, Cantor and BGC When a business model is built to fi t a the kinds of market trauma facing many of and their affi liates execute over $200 trillion in core market and to meet core needs, it creates the large fi rms. notional fi nancial transactions globally. a solid foundation that enables a business to Is there an effective understanding in serve its market and to prosper. At Cantor, we the marketplace of the size, scale, and lead- Where does the economic recovery stand have always believed in the middle market – ership BGC has and how well that business now and do you see consistent growth ahead? focusing on quality growth companies, not the has done? VOLUME 34, NUMBER 4 POSTED WITH PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT © 2011 LEADERS MAGAZINE, INC. LEADERS 45 As a public company since 2008, BGC Is it challenging to not lose the innova- To build a business quickly, it is an has exhibited extraordinary growth guided tion drive? excellent strategy to embrace the needs of by spectacular leadership. They have built an We focus on consistently reinvigorating our your employees. Before 9/11, we had one amazing business model on the foundation of business. What excites us is that when we hear location, 1 World Trade Center. Now, Cantor employees owning 38 percent of the company. a good idea, we fall in love. While we’re not is in midtown and BGC is in lower Manhattan. So our management’s and employees’ interests risk-takers in terms of market risk, we’re risk- We also have offices in Connecticut, New are entirely aligned with those of the public takers in terms of reasonable business risk. We’ll Jersey, and Long Island. We became more shareholders. build a business around a new idea for a new accessible to talented people who wanted BGC has been able to beat Wall Street’s marketplace if it fundamentally embraces our to join us and also desired a particular expectations 10 quarters in a row. Management core competencies. commute. works as one with employees and, as a result, Using our way of thinking to exercise our Much of Cantor’s culture was based the company has done brilliantly. special competencies in a different space and on a family feel – hiring relatives and In terms of BGC’s acquisition of in a different way keeps our business entrepre- friends. Has that had to change because of Newmark, what value will that bring? neurial. We are a brokerage business and a tech- circumstances? First, consider the strength and value of nology company. Those are core capabilities in The New York Times ran the 9/11 vic- our partnership structure – that is an incen- which we excel. Then we ask, “Where else can tims’ obituaries, each about 60 words. Fully tive to attract and retain talent and to acquire we apply those skills and assets?” Gaming tech- half the stories about Cantor employees in- companies. Second, BGC is not a risk-taking nology, for instance – a highly regulated market cluded sentences from their families that said business – we’re in the brokerage business. that demands the utmost integrity, accuracy, they loved their jobs. That’s extraordinary. It We hire high quality people who have great reliability and speed in structuring and process- wasn’t so much the work they loved. What client relationships and enable them to join us ing transactions – is entirely within our area of they loved was the environment they were as owners of the company.