60 seconds with...Ralph Snedden
Ralph Snedden started his professional career as a chartered accountant with PwC in Paris, before working for the construction group Trammell Crow. He started his insurance career with the broker Sedgwick in Brussels, and also spent time in Paris and London.
He joined Bain Hogg in 1992 and
was responsible for building a European network. In 1997 he joined the Euler group and became CEO of Euler International, which wrote global trade credit business.
Married to Olga, from South America, Ralph has a daughter in the insurance industry and a son who is a doctor.
What's the best thing about your job?
Not being tied down to a routine and being able to take an objective and strategic view.
What is your greatest professional achievement?
Building a European organisation from scratch.
What advice would you offer someone starting out in the industry?
Work hard, listen to others, especially clients, and keep your nose clean. You only have one reputation.
What is the best advice you have been given?
The ACE principle of management: A = Ambition,
C = communication, core competence, E = Empowerment
What do you think is more important - who you know or what you know?
What you know and how you present yourself are very important, as is having good trusted contacts.
What would you like to be doing in ten years time?
Still be enjoying good health - nothing is more important.
How do you relax?
Play golf and mow the lawn (not at the same time).
Name three things you would do if you won the lottery?
Give some money to my children, give some to charity and, as a luxury, buy a racehorse.
What really annoys you?
Bad manners and sloppy business practices.
What would you like to be doing in ten years?
Spending winters somewhere warm, splitting summers between Canada and the Azores and occasionally babysitting grandchildren (none yet).
What is your favourite film?
Tough to decide between Ben-Hur, The Godfather or Shrek.
What really annoys you?
Getting annoyed about little things that don’t really matter.
What was the first album you ever bought?
Probably Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Where were you brought up?
In Scotland in a small town near Edinburgh.
What is your most favourite gadget?
My Blackberry, it amazes me how quickly we have adapted to instant communication and availability, wherever you are.
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