8/4/2019 Bridgewater Interview LEADERS Eileen Murray

1/1

Interview

INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW

EDITORS NOTEEileen Murray joined Bridgewater

in 2009. Before this, she spent most of her earlycareer at Morgan Stanley where she served asController, Treasurer, and CAO for the InstitutionalSecurities Group. In 2002, Murray worked at CSFBas Head of Global Technology, Operations, andProduct Control and as a Management Committeemember. Returning to Morgan Stanley in 2005,she served as an Executive and ManagementCommittee member. Most recently, she was Presidentof Duff Capital Advisors and CEO of Investment RiskManagement. Murray is currently on the Boardof Inwood House, Manhattan College, and the

YMCA of Greater New York. She earned a B.S. inAccounting from Manhattan College.

COMPANY BRIEFBased in Westport, Connecticutwith approximately 1,200 employees, BridgewaterAssociates, LP (www.bwater.com) is a global in-vestment manager and has pioneered several in-vestment strategies, including currency overlaymanagement in the 80s, the separation of alphaand beta in the early 90s, and inflation-linkedbond management in the mid-90s. Bridgewater

began managing assets in its optimal alpha strat-egy Pure Alpha in 1991 and its Risk Parity/opti-mal beta strategy All Weather in 1996. The firmmanages approximately $100 billion in global in-vestments for a variety of institutional clients, in-cluding foreign governments and central banks,corporate and public pension funds, university en-dowments, and charitable foundations.

Youve had a successful career in the finan-cial services area. When the opportunitypresented itself with Bridgewater, what

made you feel it was the right fit?I was looking for three things: first, a group

of people that I wanted to work with on a dailybasis and whose values I shared; second, a cor-porate mission based on doing a good thing;and finally, a company where I could haveimpact.

So I am fortunate that at this point in my

career, I found a place where those three thingsexisted.

You have a broad level of expertise.How clearly defined is your role and howare you focusing your efforts?

Im more of a generalist since Ive spentyears in finance, treasury, and risk, and then Igot involved in operations and technology. Ivealso spent a lot of time with clients. So I bring toBridgewater a unique way of thinking about solv-ing different problems based on that experience.

This is a company that has consis-tently performed well and is known to havea distinct culture. Has it been what you ex-pected and what makes Bridgewater sucha leader in what it does?

When I was first introduced to Bridgewater,it took me six months to make up my mindabout coming here. Im not a person who likesto jump from job to job and I wanted to settle ina place where I could continue to learn.

So I took this decision seriously. What I likedabout Bridgewater is there is a social contract where

people are open and honest with each other. Theintention is for all of us to help make each otherbetter by furthering our understanding of ourselvesand our ways of thinking, and acknowledging whatwe can change about ourselves and what we cantand how to guardrail those items we cant change.

So I wanted to make sure that I was com-fortable that this is the way it actually works.When companies put out their values, they allemphasize a culture of honesty and integrity,but that may or may not be the case.

Were a community of people who wantto have quality relationships with each otherand who want to do well in our business. Butlike any job, you want quality relationships, youwant to continue to learn about yourself, andyou want people who are willing to help youthrough your journey and vice versa.

This radical transparency and desire tocontinuously improve is part of what makesBridgewater great because there is no sitting onyour laurels there is a constant evolution.

Are senior leadership opportunities

in finance becoming more open to womenand is enough being done to build diverseleadership?

Until I started working in financial services, Ididnt think about those issues. I grew up in a verydiverse area and even have a 20-year differencebetween my eldest sister and my youngest brother.

In the areas Ive been accountable for,

Ive seen that 50 percent of the graduates arewomen and wonder why it is that these per-centages arent reflected in industry. There aremore women in our colleges and universitiesand there are more women in senior positions,and that is going to continue to grow becauseof their capabilities and skills.

What people dont always talk about ishow much progress has been made over thepast 20 years. So the discussion should perhapsfocus less on where we are but more on where

were going and where we came from.Its an evolution that is continuing, and inorder for companies to continue being success-ful, you have to get great talent, and that poolincludes a lot of women. So there has been atrajectory of women increasingly going intomore senior roles and that will continue.

You are focused on supporting causesthat are important to you. Was that instilledin you early on and how critical is it to beengaged in those areas?

The way I was raised with eight siblings taught

me that if you have a piece of bread, and someoneelse doesnt, you should split it with them.

Ive been very fortunate in life and it wouldbe easy for me not to give back. But its impor-tant to do that, not just monetarily but also interms of relationships with people.

As a manager, I work with people that areless experienced than I am, so its importantfor me to give back just as people have helpeddevelop me along my career.

Do you ever take the time to appreciate

what youve accomplished and the impactyouve had?I look at success not in terms of what Ive

achieved monetarily or awards; I look at successin terms of what type of relationships I havewith people and I reflect on that.

At the end of every day, I ask myself, if Iwasnt me and I had to deal with me, what wouldthe experience be like? Sometimes I say, youwere such a jerk in this particular situation andyou have to apologize.

Because I take the time to do that, I learn

about myself, but I also learn how other peopleare experiencing me.

Do you have the ability to slow down?At some point, we all have to slow down.

But being part of the fabric of moving and in-teracting with people in a quality way is so en-ergizing it keeps you young.

Eileen Murray

ContinuousImprovement

An Interview with Eileen Murray,Management Committee, Bridgewater Associates, LP

posted with permission. copyright 2011 leaders magazine, inc.Leaders94 voLume 34, number 3