Interview with Ayesha Vardag, Divorce Lawyer

Ayesha Vardag is one of the top divorce lawyers in the UK, handling high profile, high net worth cases. She graduated with honours in law from Cambridge University in 1990, and as a scholar in European law from the Université Libre, Brussels in 1991. She then worked at the International Court of Justice in the Hague and at the UN in Vienna. She qualified and worked initially as a finance solicitor at Linklaters in London and Moscow, and then at Weil, Gotshal & Manges in London. Ayesha also trained as an advocate at the Inner Temple and was called to the Bar.

Ayesha moved across to Matrimonial and Family law in 1999 at Sears Tooth. She left to lecture in family law at Queen Mary’s, London, and to establish Ayesha Vardag Solicitors as an independent practice. She works primarily with high net worth / high achieving clients, drawing on her City based deal orientated negotiating skills against a background of hard hitting litigation experience, and a strategic intellectual grasp of the law. Recent work has included the major reported case of FS v JS, one of the first multi million cases since the notorious House of Lords decision last year in Miller v Miller. And this year a celebrity £30 million international divorce involving offshore trusts and a £40 million international divorce involving foreign assets.

We met at the Milestone Hotel in Kensington over delicious champagne and I asked Ayesha what ©The Power of Image meant to her. She said that “it is the immediate impression that one gets of another”, and when it comes to Personal Branding, she believes that it is a “recognisable personal statement of who you are”. She went on to say that “as people come to know your work it becomes less important, but initially, first impressions really count”. When I asked her about the Image Culture within her company, she said that she has created “a city, professional, glamorous culture… a departure from some of the dingier matrimonial lawyers of the old era when family law was seen as low rent and hadn’t become a high stakes financial field".

She seems to be naturally aware, and her offices and team are living proof. Ayesha employed a design consultant to create, in her offices overlooking the High Court, an environment that will be comfortable and familiar for her clients… “quietly opulent, with the feeling of a private home”. She wants her clients to feel that the service that she provides is “personal… bespoke” and that her office environment is “somewhere that they will feel at ease”.

When it comes to her clients’ Image, Ayesha advises them what is appropriate in the courtroom. “Men should be smart, sober, respectable, demure… not too sharp or snappy… Women should be quietly expensive, not flashy or too sexy, with no vulgar displays of wealth”.

Ayesha’s parents were the first to instil an awareness of creating a positive first impression. Her father was a politician and her mother elegant and conscious of Image. She laughingly remembers wearing a smart grey suit for her interview at Cambridge University.

Ayesha’s clients are international high net worth individuals, many of whom enjoy resident non domiciled status in the UK in its capacity as an on-shore tax haven. She describes a “feeding frenzy” in her market due to the UK’s generous rulings on divorce and says that there are a “vast number of people profiting from the conditions”. She competes with what she terms “the magic circle of long established firms” and her business has grown exponentially as her clients feel that she delivers “a more personal, proactive, thinking service with lower costs” due to the leaner organisational structure and personal service… “my clients don’t get relegated down the ranks”.

When it comes to high net worth divorce cases, “people want someone to fight on their behalf, to win… someone who is strong and confident and may look slightly intimidating to the other side”. And Ayesha plays the part. She is not only a solicitor, but originally qualified as a barrister and dresses accordingly. “Chanel suits day-to-day, and pinstripes when in court so that others take you seriously”.

God forbid I ever need her services, but if I do, this is the person who I would want to fight my corner.

Interview with Paul Richardson, Director, Barclays Wealth

Paul Richardson is a Director of Barclays Wealth, the Wealth Management arm of Barclays plc where his role is Global Head of Sports Media and Entertainment. We have had a couple of conversations on the power of image and personal branding, and I wanted to explore further...

It seems that Paul has always had an interest in sports and media - he started his career as a solicitor specialising in this field before becoming head of legal and business affairs for the sports marketing group, API, which later became Octagon Marketing.

In 2000 Paul joined Coutts as Head of the Sports and Entertainment division before being made Head of London Private Banking in 2004. He moved to Barclays Wealth in August last year.

I asked Paul what image means to him... "Image is your personal brand, the way that you convey yourself to the outside world. It is a collection of your brand values... professionalim, honesty, integrity... Initially its about what we see, how someone looks, after that, its about picking up on someone's brand values by observing their actions."

Paul says that whilst we are aware of the impact of others image, he likes to take the time to form a view or make a decision about someone. "People can look the part, however, once they start talking to you, or if their body language is incongruent, the warning signals may flare..."

In a market that has traditionally hired from its own ranks, Barclays Wealth has embarked on a programme of 'lateral thinking' in growing their now multi-skilled and multi-experienced team. "We launched this new and thorough approach with the understanding that we can educate people on the technical aspects of the role... we look for the raw material... an individual's substance and brand values, combined with their professional experience and areas of interest."

Paul's clients are the rich and famous - I asked him about celebrity. "We are all the same, my clients are good at what they do, they are just doing it in the public eye... they expect professional, objective advice."

And does he adapt his image depending on who he is meeting? "Its about dressing appropriately... if I am there in a business capacity, then I need to look the part, however, it would be rather strange for me to attend something like a concert in a shirt and tie..."

Interview with David Savile, CEO, AirPartner

For a man who has 28 years experience in the Aircraft Charter markets, David Savile interestingly takes a keen interest in all things image and design. He has spent the last 25 of those years with Air Partner plc. With 20 offices spanning Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia, and listed on the London Stock Exchange, Air Partner has been in operation for 45 years and is the only aviation company with a Royal Warrant granted by HM Queen Elizabeth II.

And as I trundle down to Gatwick to meet with him, I wonder to what extent David is employing the Power of Image within the business. The signs are there... Air Partner is investing in Image Consulting for their JetCard executives and for the first time in their history, used an external agency to create a new brand identity and personality for this, their 18 month-young Jet Membership product.

Today, Air Partner looks after Governments & Royal Families across the world, along with world statesmen, and stars of stage, TV, film and the music world. Underneath the glitz, the bulk of its business comes from the everyday corporations who use ad hoc aircraft charter on a regular basis to help them do business globally.

"40% Of our business traditionally comes from the government sector, 55% from the corporate sector and we identified that our growth market was in the private jet arena... Our company ethos is one of transparency and that's where we started in creating JetCard."

"We recognised that along with a considerable investment, we needed to create a fresh approach... to employ the best in this field, concentrate on building high-level relationships and for the first time, we retained an external agency to build the brand... We are now investing in Image Consultancy for our key executives - ensuring that our brand and our people are congruent."

The results speak for themselves with JetCard already profitable and the recent acquisition of Gold Air. And going forward, what's on the cards?
"Air Partner is re-branding this Summer and is creating Air Partner Private Jets (together with our airline division becoming Air Partner Commercial Jets). The driver for creating the 2 sub brands is to link together our 6 separate private jet products under one private jet identity. As a company with a diverse product range and diverse client base, our unique capabilities are already well known; the downside of this is that we are sometimes perceived as generalists not specialists... The creation of APPJ allows us to focus on one strand of our business, and use the Power of Image to convey a total focus and commitment to one specific luxury market."

"In creating APPJ we are investing in our brand to raise the perception of what is already a fine product, in being perceived as a stand-alone luxury private jet company, under the umbrella of a powerful and financially strong parent. Investing in our brand requires investment in creativity, design, and Image Consultancy to ensure we are fully consistent in all our various communications and media."