Confessions of an ex-QB

 

 

Bill Power
Title: Managing Director, Citi Markets & Banking
Company: Citigroup   
Education: B.S. – Boston College
A native of Framingham, Bill’s first job out of college was selling life insurance for Northwestern Mutual.  He has worked on the Institu-tional Equity Sales desk at Citi (in Boston) for over 11 years, and currently resides in the North End with his wife, Rebecca.  Bill is a big fan of the local Boston sports teams, and was the Big East Tennis Champion and a walk-on quarterback while at Boston College.  

 

Four years ago, amid reports of a “Brain Drain” that was sapping the business community’s most talented workers, the Greater Boston Chamber created the Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program to identify the leaders of tomorrow and engage them in the business and civic life of our community. Every Monday, Chamber president & CEO Paul Guzzi has a conversation with one of the more than 200 alumni of the BFL program to introduce the region’s next generation of business leaders to Metro readers.

What is the coolest part of your job? 
Working and interacting with so many smart clients and colleagues within the investment industry. 

If you were recruiting someone to work for you, what would be your number one selling point about Citigroup?
The working environment. I work on an open trading floor with dozens of people seated close to me.  You might lack some degree of privacy, but you are constantly engaged and able to learn something new every day.

What is your favorite thing about working in Boston?
I love to travel, but Boston is my home.  I don’t think there’s another city that offers the culture, history, higher learning, geography, convenience, and — at the moment —dominant sports teams that Boston does.

Favorite place to take a client for lunch?  
Probably The Vault or Houston’s...

If you could have any job in Boston, other than your own, what would it be and why?
I’d probably want to work in a new business development capacity for a small company with a unique product. I love sales, interacting with people and solving problems for customers.  If not that, I’d probably want to teach high school history and be a coach.

What’s the best piece of career advice you have ever received?
There are a couple principles that have stayed with me from the beginning of my career. “You can judge a man by the company he keeps,” “Find what it is you’re passionate about and do it,” and the importance of a positive attitude.  

Best place for an after work drink? 
At home with my wife on our roof deck.

Who do you admire in the business world?   
Steve Jobs: He was given up for adoption as a child, started Apple, was forced out, came back to save the company, beat cancer, and has gone on to create a consumer icon. Everyone should read his 2005 commencement address to the graduating class at Stanford.

How can young professionals expand their networks and increase their impact in Boston?   
Volunteer: Give your time to a cause you care about and you’ll be amazed at the great people you can meet.

Tell us something we should know about you.   
My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving — there are no expectations, no lines, no returns and no lost receipts. It’s all about being with family.