Changing Lanes: Meet the Square Mile foreign exchange boss who manages a superbike team on his commute
Outside perceptions of both the City and motorsport may tend to evoke masculinity; think Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, in which the adrenaline-fuelled Bretton James and Jacob Moore combine million dollar deals with an addiction for speed on Ducatis.
But Mark Smith-Halvorsen, the chief executive officer of foreign exchange specialists Global Reach Partners and boss of GBmoto Racing in the British Superbike Championship (BSB) has a foot in the both camps, and says that times have changed.
“The stereotypical bike rider shagged a load of birds, smoked even though he wasn’t supposed to, and drank a lot of beer, but was fast come Sunday,” he tells City A.M.
“Those guys don’t exist anymore, and if they do they’re not winning any races. Exactly the same applies to the City. The two are running down different, but parallel tracks. The two environments were quite macho but they have had to tidy themselves right up.”
Smith-Halvorsen’s frisson with bikes began aged 16 and gave way to a love affair with competitive riding which lasted two decades before he called time on his racing career in 2008.
During that time he was a three-time British Endurance champion, all the while pursuing a career in financial services which led to founding City firm Global Reach Partners, based near Moorgate, 15 years ago.
Read more: Five tips for becoming a savvy trader from Global Reach
“The original plan was to work hard, sell my stake in the business, retire, and then become a motorcycle team manager with some of the proceeds,” says Smith-Halvorsen.
“But I got all brave and decided it would be better if I didn’t wait but slowly start building something, so when I got the opportunity to retire or leave the business I had a going concern and was halfway there.
“Retirement has come later than anticipated and the going concern has got bigger than anticipated.”
Such fortitude saw him officially assume the position of GBmoto Racing team principal when the organisation returned to the racetrack in 2011 after a three-year hiatus.
GBmoto are targeting a British Superbikes Championship this year (Source: GBmoto)
GBmoto Racing stepped up to the BSB – the highest tier in the Britain – 12 months later, and Smith-Halvorsen instigated a five-year plan to propel the factory-supported Kawasaki team to the sport’s summit.
The former LV= regional manager’s passion to succeed comes at a hefty price, however, as the demands associated with balancing the needs of two all-encompassing commitments are not straightforward.
“It’s extremely difficult and the thing you sacrifice almost entirely is any rest or relaxation,” he says.
“My days start at 5.30am and I’m on the train by 6.15am where I’ll work for 45 minutes on racing matters.
“I might even sneak in a couple of phone calls at 7.15am just before I get to my desk but as soon as I’m there I switch to business mode until around 5.30pm.
“I intermingle my journey home and evening with trying to ensure my family doesn’t divorce me and doing what I need to do to support the team.
“Certainly at the moment I’m really motivated and engaged with my work in the City and without a shadow of doubt that comes first.
“I’m generally not a guy that gives up easily but it’s fair to say that each year, despite the long-term plans and goals, I have to seriously think about what I should be doing the following year.
“It wouldn’t be a lie to say I’m always reviewing the scenario because it’s bloody difficult doing both.”
The dual pressures inevitably give rise to suggestions of a glass ceiling within superbikes and a rather bullish claim from the man who competed in the World Endurance Championship.
“If I’d been focusing all my energies on it, we would have won the BSB by now. We’d be in World Superbikes,” he adds. “That’s my belief.”
For now the two worlds co-exist and Smith-Halvorsen believes there are significant overlaps between the principles which govern the Square Mile and those which influence life in the BSB paddock.
“Most of the City – regardless of platforms, technology and the digital world – relies on people doing the right thing at the right time and making the right decision,” he said.
“Motorsport is a people game as well. Everything about running a motorsport team, right down to the riders who don the leathers, is a people game.
“We probably have a reputation as a team for being serious about what good looks like. We are very loyal but we have also hired and fired a few people based on that.
Work hard, race hard: Smith-Halvorsen founded Global Reach Partners in 2001
“That is a very business-orientated, hard numbers, perspective. The team is quite hard on itself in the same way that a financial business needs to be.”
Into the final instalment of his five-year plan, Smith-Halvorsen’s team claimed victories at the opening two rounds of the BSB season at Silverstone and Oulton Park.
Focus now turns to the Isle of Man TT, which starts on Saturday, and despite the stresses and strains of the colliding landscapes, there are benefits to his double life.
“If you’re getting down about one thing, the other thing can pick you up,” added Smith-Halvorsen.
“When I walk away from a race weekend and all the bikes are smashed to bits and we’ve scored no points, I can come back to work and the lights are on, everyone looks happy and we made a couple of quid yesterday.
“Also, you don’t have the same, dare I say, employment laws and restrictions in the paddock and you can be fairly open and varied in your style of management.
“I’ve learnt so much about management scenarios, business deals and transactions by running both entities.
“We set out with a five-year plan to win the British Superbikes Championship and this is our fifth year.
“Before you get a podium, that’s all you wish for. Before you win races, all you want is to win races. Thankfully we’ve done both. Now it’s about winning the championship.”