Monty Cerf Background
Monty Cerf is a wealth management professional who manages wealth in partnership with a network of clients that includes family offices, individuals, foundations, and endowments across the country. Read on for more about William Montgomery Cerf.
Education
William Montgomery Cerf graduated from Cornell University with his bachelor’s degree in government in 1979, later receiving his M.Sc. in politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1981. Monty also holds an MBA in finance from Yale School of Management.
Career of William Montgomery Cerf
Monty Cerf has 21 years of experience in the investment and merchant banking space, serving institutions such as JPMorgan, Bear Stearns, and OCJ Capital. During this time, Monty directed multiple successful private equity placement groups in addition to facilitating a variety of global capital market functions.
After transitioning from merchant banking, Mr. Cerf began working with JPMorgan’s Private Bank before serving with Lehman Brothers as an Investment Representative within their Investment Management division. When the organization was acquired by Barclays and then sold, William Montgomery Cerf and his team joined forces with UBS Private Wealth Management.
Monty is currently a Managing Director, Portfolio Manager, and Family Office Consultant who oversees Montclair Investment Partners at UBS. As a Family Office Consultant (FOC), Mr. Cerf has been trained to assist ultra-high net worth clients and their families as they seek to manage their business, passion, legacy, and investment needs.
Monty’s career is underlined by a commitment to providing cutting-edge research, innovation, service, and insight to each wealth management process. Monty and his team pride themselves on covering a wide range of services including, but not limited to, financial planning, investing, family office strategy, estate planning, custom portfolios, philanthropy, lending services, alternative investments, structured products, and more. Monty is also well known within his sector for his interest in helping others further expand their knowledge of a variety of key wealth management and business development components through his investments in mentoring and training up-and-coming talent.
Monty Cerf and Volunteer Work
Monty Cerf is an avid volunteer who is extremely active in the Montclair State University community. Monty has been an adjunct professor of international finance at Montclair State University, School of Business for over a decade. Mr. Cerf is also on the Board of Advisors at the college.
Mr. Cerf also serves as an advisory board member for Yale School of Management, International Center of Finance, and Cornell Outdoor Education. Previously, Monty was a volunteer with the Peace Corps in central Africa.
William Montgomery Cerf on Training the Next Generation of Business Leaders — Which Skills Are Most Important to Develop?
William Montgomery Cerf is a leader and mentor in education advancement that is extremely passionate about helping young people who will serve as future leaders with finding their path to success.
Monty mentions that there are dozens of skills that current business leaders involved in mentorship should try to pass on to the next generation of leadership talent.
Included below are a few of the most important qualities to consider.
Effective Communication
Communication is the cornerstone of so many processes in the business world. Every leader must learn how they can effectively communicate with their teams and collaborators as a means to keep everyone on the same page. These days, leaders have to be proficient in communication through a variety of channels, including text, email, over the phone, and face to face conversation. Monty mentions that, in many cases, simplicity is key when it comes to conversation. Describing situations in simple, easy to communicate ways and delivering solutions just as clearly and concisely can be extremely helpful when speaking with coworkers, partners, and clients alike.
A critical part of communication that is frequently overlooked is listening. Leaders in training can benefit from practicing the art of active listening to benefit from showing their teams, peers, and clients that they are hearing them out and are working to ensure that questions, comments, or concerns are addressed appropriately.
Conflict Management
The American Management Association finds that managers can spend at least 24% of their time managing conflict, which necessitates that leaders have the ability to manage conflict quickly, efficiently, and thoughtfully. Monty Cerf maintains that it is critical to teach the next generation of leaders how they can mitigate or resolve issues before they reach the point of negatively impacting the organization. Leaders in training can also benefit from building skills in identifying conflict, as it empowers a more proactive approach to solving problems.
Emotional Intelligence
Closely linked to conflict management skills is the ability to both identify and manage emotions in oneself and others, frequently cited as emotional intelligence. Monty recognizes that emotional intelligence skills are important to pass on to prospective leaders because they play a vital role in so many other aspects of business development. From communicating well to remaining calm and collected while under pressure, emotional intelligence is a crucial requirement for conducting business appropriately. It is essential for understanding others’ perspectives, maintaining a sense of self-awareness and self-management, and helping leaders remain socially aware and capable of effectively managing their relationships with others.
Critical Thinking and Decision-Making
Being able to think critically in a wide range of situations and make decisions that you and your teams can stand behind are important leadership qualities that are truly indispensable. While many people believe that critical thinking is a skill that cannot be taught, it actually can by encouraging a sense of curiosity that helps prospective leaders feel invigorated by the challenge of solving complex problems on the job. It is natural for new leaders to have struggles with concrete decision-making early on, but Monty mentions that these feelings can be dispelled through confidence development. Leaders need to be sure of themselves and their ability to make decisions that will benefit teams, clients, and organizations as a whole. And, in situations where this may require outside assistance, they must be adept at deciding on the proper delegation of tasks.
Adaptability
Adaptability, flexibility, resilience, whatever your preference, is a vital skill to teach to the next generation of leaders. Regardless of your industry or specialty, leaders often have to face a laundry list of challenges that require innovative approaches, the ability to keep team members motivated, and the power to pivot if things do not go your way. Simply put, no one wants a leader who completely crumbles in the face of adversity. They want and need someone who is able to take stock of the situation and quickly adapt it to the benefit of their organization and team. Teaching prospective leaders adaptability can be done in a variety of ways. Many experts speak to how focusing on identifying problem areas and being comfortable with pitching ways to properly address them can go a long way towards effective leadership.
Future Posts From Monty Cerf
For more informative, high-level content addressing topics such as wealth management, leadership, mentorship, professional development, and personal development based on Monty Cerf’s insights, feel free to check out the blog!