From Career & Culture with Jefferies CEO Richard Handler | Global Alts 2023 · · iConnections
“Rule number one has to be do not blow up your company and it sounds very obvious when you say it but when I started there were 500 investment Banks so we're number 497 and now we're between three and seven and almost everything that we do it's not because we're Geniuses most of them blew themselves up.”
On , Richard Handler, Chief Executive Officer & Director at JEFFERIES FINANCIAL GRP INC, spoke about financial stability during Career & Culture with Jefferies CEO Richard Handler | Global Alts 2023 on iConnections.
Richard Handler, CEO of Jefferies, has been active in discussing Miami's growing role in finance. In a December 2024 interview, Handler stated that he had spent eight days in Miami meeting with 140 clients, including private equity and hedge fund executives. He described Miami as "an active part of the financial system at this point in time" and "a major hub" for transactions and conferences, adding that the consistency of people staying in the area is likely to be maintained. Handler has also spoken about his management philosophy and the importance of avoiding risk. At a 2023 conference, he said that "rule number one has to be do not blow up your company," attributing Jefferies' survival and growth to that principle. He has emphasized the value of mentorship and family, noting in a 2022 interview that he runs a scholarship program for disadvantaged students and that his family is his top priority. In 2014, Handler participated in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, jumping into an ice bucket and nominating four individuals, including Tilman Fertitta and Pitbull.