So how did John Gallo become the youngest managing director in the history of Lehman Brothers? The short, easy answer is that he worked hard and made the firm a lot of money, but that is, of course, overly simplistic.
His tale is actually more layered, his road more winding. Who else working in finance has a background in ballet and bartending? Who else has been able to weave the discipline, poise, and adaptability he learned from the first of those pursuits with the interpersonal skills he cultivated while immersed in the second? And how many others have been able to absorb important lessons along the way about sticking to one’s guns, taking chances, and understanding how to make the most of one’s time?
The end result has been a career that has spanned over 25 years, and one that now finds him as the Global Head of Sales for BNP Paribas, the world’s seventh-largest bank. In addition, he serves as that organization’s co-Head of Global Markets and was previously the Head of Institutional Client Group for Deutsche Bank (2015-17) and the Head of Investor Sales for Global Markets at Citigroup (2008-15).
But focus, again, on his time at Lehman Brothers (1995-2008). He began in the back office and worked his way into a role as an MD, the highest-ranking position at the firm short of group head or C-level officer, by the time he was 30. Normally the process is far longer, far more involved. Normally for the lucky few who make it to that coveted title, it can take at least a decade longer.
But John Gallo accelerated the process by taking on a large portfolio at a young age, and in a former colleague’s words was “fairly impactful in the innovation of the financial markets.” Foremost among those was developing hedging strategies for mortgage portfolios. Lehman became known for that, and he was at the forefront.
But again, he had built the foundation for his success long before. He believes his participation in ballet from age 5 to age 15 had a sizable impact on his finance career, as he was forced to meet the demands of that discipline, while also exhibiting grace under pressure. It goes without saying that he also had to be tough, given the physical rigors and the fact that some of his classmates were not accepting of his participation in a discipline they judged to be something less than manly.
He would in time transition to lacrosse, playing the sport in high school and at Fordham University. And it was while he was in college that he tended bar to put himself through school. Multitasking became a talent, as did the gentle art of negotiation.
The idea, of course, is to maximize one’s tips — i.e., to make the most of one’s potential outcome. Doing that requires adjusting one’s approach depending on the situation or person involved.
It is a skill that served him well, once he launched his career in finance. Again and again John Gallo has been able to lean on his people skills to maximize his potential outcome, while at the same time soaking up knowledge that has proven vital to his advancement.
Early on, for instance, he learned that the long-held belief about putting in long hours at the office — that it was essential to be the first to arrive and the last to leave — was a fallacy. Rather, it is a matter of how much any one person can accomplish during his or her time at work, not simply a matter of facetime.
Later John Gallo would learn the value of sticking to one’s guns, as was the case when he recommended a deal at the firm where he was employed, only to receive push-back from his superiors. The deal ultimately proved successful, and he was not only vindicated but saw all the grunt work he put into the transaction validated.
And finally, he learned about taking calculated risks — how it’s important to gather and weigh all the available information, but sometimes necessary to go with one’s gut.
Taken together, all those things enabled John Gallo to make a rapid rise to the MD position at Lehman Brothers, all those years ago. And his upward trajectory has only continued since then.
