Meet the manager: Craig Baker
Manager of Alliance Trust and CIO of WTW.
If you weren’t a fund manager, what job would you do?
I would dearly have loved to have taken over from Jürgen Klopp as manager of Liverpool but was pipped to the post by some other guy.
What was the proudest moment of your career?
Becoming CIO of WTW, where I’ve worked since graduating, was a big moment; winning the Alliance Trust mandate is up there, too. Through the trust, I’ve got much closer to end investors, which has made me a better manager.
What was the most difficult moment of your career and why?
Covid was challenging. Suddenly being isolated from my team was a bit of a shock, though we’ve all learned to work efficiently in a hybrid way since then.
What advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?
I’ve loved my career and would tell myself to do it all over again, but don’t let the small things stress you out.
“I would dearly have loved to have taken over from Jürgen Klopp as manager of Liverpool but was pipped to the post by some other guy.”
Craig Baker, Manager of Alliance Trust and CIO of WTW
Away from the workplace, how do you spend your time?
Weekends are mainly spent with the family, but I enjoy skiing and watching most other sports.
Tell us about the last book you read or the last podcast you listened to?
I recently re-read “Fooled by Randomness” by Nicholas Taleb, which is about the hidden role of chance in life and a good reminder that we all read too much into outcomes as opposed to the process that led to those outcomes.
Where was the last place you went on holiday and why?
Skiing in France with the family – the kids and I love it, my wife not so much, particularly given she had broken her leg on the previous ski trip!
In your personal life, what would you like to achieve in the next 12 months?
Well, I would prefer to see my children achieve things – my eldest daughter do well in her GCSEs in one year’s time and my youngest daughter settle in well to her new school.
