Leave Without a Plan: BNY CEO Robin Vince

After 26 years at Goldman Sachs, Robin Vince made a decision few senior Wall Street executives would make: he walked away without another job lined up. At 48, he chose to take what he called a “gap year,” turning down an immediate approach from BNY so he could step back and think carefully about what he wanted from the next phase of his life and career. 

In this episode of Executive Decisions, the BNY CEO explains why stepping away became essential, and how that pause helped him decide he was not finished building. He reflects on the pressure, uncertainty and self-doubt that shaped his career, from arriving in France as a child unable to speak the language to navigating the intensity of Goldman Sachs in the 1990s. 

Vince also looks back on the global financial crisis, including the weekend of Lehman Brothers’ collapse, and the lessons he took from moments of extreme pressure. He then discusses the transformation of BNY under his leadership, why consistency matters in building institutions and how he balances running one of America’s oldest banks with family life and personal wellbeing. 

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