Talking Points: Robert Moser, CEO, Laird Norton Tyee

In January, Robert Moser took over as CEO of Laird Norton Tyee, the wealth management firm that is part of the Laird Norton Co., now in its seventh generation of family ownership. His goal with the company is to manage the wealth of a growing share of the region’s large pool of wealthy individuals and business owners.

Leslie D. Helm | February 2011 | FROM THE PRINT EDITION

Credit: Hayley Young

Childhood: My parents grew up in a small town called Dixon, Ill., which is the boyhood home of Ronald Reagan. It’s that classic small-town, Midwest, all-American city. My father worked for DuPont. In those days, we moved every time he got a new job. I got into the financial services business because I thought it was one of the more stable businesses and I wouldn’t have to move so much, and that turned out to be completely incorrect. I think I’m now living in my 23rd house.

Career: Out of school, I went to work for one of the large broker dealers in tax preference investing, which was tax shelters. Fortunately, Congress decided to change the tax laws [effectively eliminating that business]. I then worked at a large southeastern bank and lived through the bank merger phenomenon before ending up at Sun Trust Bank, where I stayed for 20 years. But I had eight jobs while I was there. Having the childhood that I had, I was quite used to change. Many times, I would go in and run a business unit for a couple of years and then they would find another business unit for me to run. It was a wonderful opportunity for me to get to know a very broad range of businesses.

First Lesson in Management: I was managing a business unit at a bank in North Carolina. A very talented employee told me what a terrible boss I was. She said I managed the business so that it was all about me instead of about my team. It was one of those heartfelt lessons that you never forget. Nobody wants to follow someone who is an egotist, who is involved in self-aggrandizement. If you want to be good at business, you have to inspire and lead a team. It’s not all about you. It’s about the success of your unit.

Managing Investments: There are two important components when you manage individual wealth: You have to fundamentally understand the economic drivers of the business and you have to truly have the best interest of clients at heart. You can get away with running a high-profit model for awhile, but at the end of the day, if there is not true value for that client, your model will fail.

Investment Management in the Northwest: The Pacific Northwest, particularly Seattle, is very attractive because wealth is still being created in this market. [Laird