Your career has spanned multiple economic and political shifts, as well as some of the most high-profile transactions of the last few decades. What first drew you into investment banking – and looking back, what moments or inflection points proved most formative in shaping how you approached the industry and its challenges?

I stumbled a bit into investment banking because I was initially working as a corporate lawyer in New York and then in London, but when I received a call in the autumn of 1996 from a headhunter about an opening at Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, as Deutsche Bank was then known, I took the dive without thinking it through too much. With hindsight, my decision-making process was deeply flawed as I hadn’t thought it through or done any due diligence, but I was lucky to have started when I did with the firm I did. 

So my career is based more on happenstance than a calculated plan. But I always liked financial markets and found them an extraordinarily interesting intellectual puzzle. And at the time investment banking was a growing industry and Europe was an exciting place to be with economic growth and growing integration providing so many opportunities. The ability to work on complex transactions that required synthesizing multiple disciplines – finance, law, market psychology, and corporate strategy – appealed to my analytical nature.

Several inflection points proved transformative in shaping my approach. The first was the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, which taught me how quickly market sentiment can shift and the cascading effects of contagion. Working through the dot-com bubble and subsequent crash reinforced the importance of maintaining independent judgment when market exuberance reaches fever pitch. Perhaps most significantly, the 2008 global financial crisis fundamentally altered my perspective on systemic risk and the interconnectedness of global markets. Living through these cycles — experiencing both bull and bear markets firsthand — instilled a healthy skepticism toward consensus thinking and an appreciation for risk management that no textbook could provide.

Building on that fascinating journey, the investment banking industry you entered looks markedly different from the one we see today, where technology drives rapid transformation. What do you view as the most significant changes in the industry, and how have they reshaped how bankers operate and create value?

The investment banking industry has undergone seismic shifts since I entered the field. Three transformations stand out as particularly consequential. First, the regulatory landscape has fundamentally changed since 2008, with Basel III, Dodd-Frank, and other frameworks constraining bank balance sheets and risk-taking capacity. This has pushed many activities into the shadows of private markets and alternative providers, while increasing compliance costs and changing the economic calculus of certain businesses.

Second, technology has revolutionised every aspect of banking. When I started, information asymmetry created significant advantages for banks with strong research departments and distribution networks. Today, the democratisation of information has eroded these advantages, while algorithmic trading and AI are reshaping market making and even parts of advisory work.

Third, the rise of private capital has dramatically altered the ecosystem. Private equity, venture capital, sovereign wealth funds, and family offices now wield extraordinary influence, keeping companies private longer and changing the nature of public markets. Investment banks have had to adapt by developing stronger capabilities in private capital raising and M&A advisory rather than relying primarily on public market transactions.

These shifts have forced successful bankers to evolve from pure financial intermediaries into strategic advisors who can navigate complex stakeholder environments, regulatory frameworks, and financing alternatives across both public and private markets.

Equity capital markets have long been a gauge for global economic sentiment. Yet today, rising geopolitical fragmentation, from tariffs to extraterritorial sanctions, is disrupting the flow of cross-border capital. How are these dynamics impacting the strategic calculus for companies looking to access markets, and what broader lessons can we draw from this shifting landscape?

The fracturing of the global economic order has profoundly complicated equity capital markets activity. We’re witnessing what I call the “de-globalization of capital” – a reversal of the post-Cold War trend toward increasingly integrated financial markets.

For companies seeking access to equity markets, this fragmentation requires much more nuanced strategic thinking. First, the choice of listing venue has become a geopolitical decision, not merely a financial one. Chinese companies that once routinely listed in New York now face heightened scrutiny and regulatory hurdles, pushing many toward Hong Kong or mainland exchanges instead. Similarly, companies in strategic sectors must carefully consider the implications of their shareholder base, as foreign investment reviews have expanded dramatically in scope.

Second, companies must now navigate increasingly complex disclosure requirements related to supply chains,  sanctions compliance, and ESG factors. What might have been straightforward cross-border transactions a decade ago now require extensive due diligence and contingency planning for potential sanctions or regulatory interventions.

Third, valuation paradigms are shifting as investors price in geopolitical risk premiums for companies caught in the crossfire of great power competition. This is creating regional valuation disparities that smart companies can sometimes arbitrage, but which also complicate global capital allocation decisions.

The broader lesson from these shifts is that finance can never be fully separated from politics. The era of treating global capital markets as neutral, frictionless platforms is over. Companies and their advisors must develop sophisticated geopolitical intelligence capabilities and integrate them into their financing strategies. 

Throughout your career, you have had a front-row seat to various moments of high-stakes decision-making. Could you share some of the more intellectually rewarding experiences you’ve had navigating global events?

Some of the most intellectually stimulating moments in my career came when financial markets intersected with broader historical currents. Working on privatisations in European markets during their economic liberalisation phases required understanding not just financial metrics, but also socio-political dynamics and historical context. Successfully executing these transactions meant appreciating both the technical aspects and the complex stakeholder environment.

Another intellectually rewarding experience was helping companies  navigate the European sovereign debt crisis. This demanded understanding monetary policy, banking systems, and political economy simultaneously. These solutions aren’t found in finance textbooks but require creative thinking across disciplines.

What made these experiences rewarding wasn’t just their complexity, but the fact that they required continuous learning and intellectual humility. The most valuable insight often came from questioning received wisdom and conventional frameworks when faced with unprecedented situations.

What advice would you give to young professionals to not only excel in the industry, but also stay intellectually curious and attuned to the bigger pi­cture?

First, develop genuine breadth alongside depth. The most valuable professionals in today’s environment can connect dots across disciplines. Don’t just study finance – understand history, literatures, the arts, geopolitics, technology, and behavioral psychology. The intersections between these fields are where the most interesting questions and opportunities lie.

Second, cultivate independent thinking. Markets are consensus-generating machines, and the consensus is often wrong at critical junctures. Develop the analytical rigour and intellectual courage to form your own views, particularly when they diverge from prevailing wisdom.

Third, invest in your communication skills. The ability to distill complex situations into clear insights, and adapt your communication style to different audiences, is increasingly rare and valuable. Technical knowledge alone is insufficient if you can’t articulate its implications convincingly.

Fourth, understand that careers are non-linear. Be willing to take calculated risks and lateral moves that expand your perspective. Some of my most valuable professional experiences came from assignments that initially seemed tangential to my core focus but provided insights I later leveraged.

Finally, maintain ethical anchors. You’ll inevitably face situations where commercial pressures conflict with other values. Having clarity about your principles before these moments arise will help you navigate them with integrity.

Lastly, if you had to condense what it takes to be a thoughtful and effective professional into a single sentence, what would that be?

Cultivate the breadth to see connections others miss, the depth to add substantive value, the adaptability to thrive amid uncertainty, and the integrity to prioritize long-term trust over short-term advantage.

We thank Mr. Coben for sharing his insights with the Nottingham Economic Review.