John Stamatis, Co-Head of North America, Howden Capital Markets & Advisory was a guest on the Investment Banking Leaders Podcast with Peter Nieberg on the March 24th episode. They discussed Stamatis’s career, what makes HCMA stand out in the investment banking sector, how to develop valuable talent in the market and what can be expected on the horizon.
Our People Make It Possible
Howden’s overall ability to differentiate by constantly bringing holistic and creative thinking and a broad set of solutions is what Stamatis believes drives the best solutions for clients.
“Collaboration is what puts us at our best because we do offer a number of products and services within the bank but more importantly outside the bank,” said Stamatis, adding that having that collaborative, entrepreneurial mindset in the Howden culture means bringing people onto the team at all levels who want to build their career here.
Stamatis highlights the Howden University initiative, inviting all new hires in the Howden Group at all levels to come together in the summer for an off-site immersive exposure experience all sides of Howden Re.
Client coverage, leadership, and experience
HCMA’s philosophy is key for providing a top-tier “amazing client experience.” Stamatis said it boils down to the belief that people hire us because they want to, not because they must.
He said part of it is a “ruthless” focus on executing a transaction from start to finish, thinking ahead, and anticipating pitfalls. It requires really knowing your client and putting in the “hard yards” prep work before the first meeting.
“It’s a cliche for a reason; it works,” said Stamatis. “Knowing your client and understanding their needs will allow you to find the most innovative and effective solutions for them.”
Industry evolution and AI tools
Looking to the future, Stamatis said specialty will continue to matter more as the world has gotten smaller and knowledge has become more commoditized. The value of simply knowing people or executing a deal has gone down and what will set certain players apart is specialization.
“HCMA is leaning into this specialization to give clients a distinctive experience,” said Stamatis. “There will always be a place for larger banks; we’re proud to offer something distinctive that’s differentiated to clients and meets what they want.”
When it comes to using artificial intelligence, Stamatis said there is a lot of “non-thinking” work that feels like it should be low hanging fruit for AI agents — like polishing presentation materials or data gathering.
However, genuine relationships will continue to matter as a “big part” of investment banking is trust.
“Genuine reasoning and the ability to think and learn is what sets humans apart from AI in roles like this; AI is a tool to be used, especially as technology advances, but the human nature is crucial for success,” said Stamatis.
2025 outlook on the market environment
“Within the insurance industry, the market is in a very interesting place,” said Stamatis, noting he remains optimistic for the year ahead.
He said the market has hit equilibrium following Hurricane Ian, financial volatility in 2022/2023, and the sharpest fed pricing cycle in decades. Now, as the spectre of climate change looms, its effects are evident through peril events such as the CA wildfires being 40-50bn industry loss event and other aggregate losses combined with a changing geopolitical landscape.
“Ultimately, what HCMA does at the end of the day is help insurance industry clients match risk with the optimal and lowest cost form of capital which allows them to offer the most efficient solutions and competitive prices to policy holders,” said Stamatis. “We try to maintain the perspective that what we do matters even more in an increasingly risky world.”
What would you tell your younger self?
Stamatis said he would tell his younger self the same thing he tells his team; at any given point you’re more capable than you believe, find your genuine skills and develop them.
“Your title does not define you at any point in your career, and you can own your career path to grow personally and professionally,” said Stamatis.
He says the best advice he’s ever received is from his father:; whatever you are doing, take pride in it and do the best job that you can no matter how big or small, and good things will happen.
