Vision, Tenacity, and Empathy

Jeffrey Solomon is the President of publicly listed Cowen Group (TK: COWN), a financial services company focused on supporting and providing active management to the marketplace. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1988, Jeff deferred an acting career with a brief respite on Wall Street, but he hasn’t looked back since. In 1994, he joined Peter Cohen, then the former head of investment bank Shearson Lehman Brothers, to form money management firm Ramius Advisors. Ramius grew to become one of the largest hedge funds in the world, and in 2009 merged with boutique investment bank Cowen Group.

Following the merger, Jeff switched over to the investment bank and today serves as its Chief Executive Officer, where he embodies the firm’s core values of vision, tenacity and empathy.

Our conversation starts with a passionate description of Pittsburgh sports, and flows to how active managers succeed in the 1990s and need to evolve to succeed today. We discuss the importance of empathy in the investment business, and touch on how Jeff’s summer camp experience as a kid informs how he manages people today. His answers to my closing questions are just amazing. If you’re short on time, fast forward to the 51st minute of the show. You’ll miss plenty along the way, but you won’t want to miss these.

Please enjoy my conversation with Jeffrey Solomon.