Top energy banker Welsh leaves Simmons & Co to begin next chapter

Head of international energy investment banking at Simmons & Co International, Colin Welsh, has announced his intention to step-down from his role at the firm.

While the decision was difficult, the financial expert, who founded accountancy and corporate finance firm, RMD in 1987 which was later sold to Touche Ross, now Deloitte, said the “timing was right” to begin the next chapter of his career.

“I’ve been running this business in all of its versions for about 30 years,” he said.

“It has been a tough 30 years, because it’s tough growing and then running a business. There are stresses and strains that go with that. When you’re leading a business that’s part and parcel of the job. But there comes a point where you say, you know what – that’s not something I want to do anymore.”

While at RMD, Mr Welsh met Matt Simmons, who would become his mentor.

He would go on to join Mr Simmons at his firm in 1999 and has since overseen $16 billion (£12.9billion) in transactions.

“I met him (Simmons) on the other side of a deal and he just took a shine to me,” Mr Welsh said.

“Matt Simmons was an enormous influence in my career. He used to talk about intellectual curiosity.

“He used to tell me, don’t just accept what people say or the information that gets provided to you. You need to be intellectually curious and challenge for yourself whether it makes sense.

“That is a very valuable trait”, said a reflective Welsh, who most recently led the takeover of Simmons by Piper Jaffray.

“I’ve been lucky,” he said. I started life as a charted accountant. If somebody had said to me that 30 years on I would be head of investment banking for an international, publicly traded, US business, I would have just laughed.”

He has since established an inner circle of colleagues whom he has known for many years.

“It’s been incredible. I’ve been lucky that I have had exposure to oil and gas and I’ve been lucky with the people I’ve worked with,” he said.

“Over time there have been a lot of people who have come to us with business ideas, have developed businesses or built businesses. We’ve helped people become very wealthy.”

Mr Welsh said the Piper Jaffray tie-up was an ideal fit that has led to Simmons’ energy team completing £8.9 billion worth of deals internationally, while Piper’s market capitalisation has increased by 60 per cent.

“The marriage has gone so well, it’s actually unbelievable,” Mr Welsh said.

“In same respects it’s even harder to step off the bus when things are going so unbelievably well. In other respects, that’s the right time to step off, because the business is in good hands.

“It’s still a wrench to give it up, because it took me 30 years to get here and I only just got good.

“But I don’t want to wake up worrying if people are doing their jobs anymore.

“For some time I’ve been thinking after 30 years I would like to have an easier life.”

Mr Welsh said he now plans to become more involved in the oil and gas industry.

“I’m very interested in energy and oil and gas and it’s absolutely my intention to continue to be involved with that,” he said.

“Whatever I do next will be in energy.

“In many respects I see myself as a longer-term investor, because you have to see through the peaks and troughs of the industry. It’s easy to be smart with hindsight. If we were all incredible investors we would all be investing in the bottom of the cycle and selling out at the top of the cycle.”

But he’ll be doing it at a slower pace.

“There’s a desire on my part to slow down and have more time to enjoy life actually,” he said.

“There are a lot of things people take for granted in everyday life.

“But when you’re living a very hectic corporate life and travelling, including long haul flights every few weeks and some variety of flight every week, you never get time to truly relax or do some of the most basic things.

“I’ve flown to Sydney, Australia for dinner and back and gone to Singapore for a half day meeting. These are the things you have to do in this role, but they kill you. It has a very wearing effect.

“The bottom line is we’re only here once. It’s not a rehearsal. My major cancer scare a few years ago was a pretty big wake-up call.”

Mr Welsh plans to spend his first few months off skiing, walking his two black labs and spending time with his family, including daughter Christy, son Connor and wife Wendy.

“This is just the right time and I feel really good about it,” he said.

“It has been a terrific journey so far.

“But the accountancy business was work hard, play hard and the Simmons business was work even harder and play a lot less, so it’s time to rebalance that.”

And what does he put his business success down to?

“Woody Allen said 99% of success is turning up,” Mr Welsh said.

“I often joke with people that I’ve made a career out of that – just turning up.”