Charlotte Bobroff is an Executive Director and Senior Banker at J.P. Morgan Private Bank based in London with over 10 years’ experience in financial services.Charlotte is responsible for managing key client relationships with a particular focus on Family Offices and Entrepreneurs in the Consumer, Retail & E-commerce sector. Charlotte specialises in providing strategic advice across investment, lending, wealth planning and philanthropy as well as facilitating cross-divisional access across the bank with a view to provide customised solutions.
In addition to her role as a Banker at J.P. Morgan Charlotte is Chair of the Volunteer Leadership Group which supports employees philanthropic interests by partnering with different charities and organisations in order to develop and implement volunteering and mentoring opportunities.
Charlotte is also an advocate and champion for gender diversity, part of the Female Client Strategy Team at J.P. Morgan and a founding member of WealthiHer in the U.K., a network of leaders set up to collaboratively change the perception of financial services and to deepen our partnership with women in business.
Prior to joining J.P. Morgan in 2013 Charlotte worked at Credit Suisse Private Bank where she was a Relationship Manager on the UK Ultra High-net worth and Family Office team.
Charlotte graduated from University College London with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics with Eastern European Studies and holds the Level 6 CISI Private Client Investment Advice and Management Diploma.
I have been working in Private Banking for almost 14 years, the last nine with J.P. Morgan Private Bank. I focus on advising entrepreneurs on how to best manage their wealth beyond the day-to-day running of their business – although the two are very closely interconnected. I have a specific focus on entrepreneurs in the consumer, retail and e-commerce sectors, which I am really passionate about. I have been fortunate to also be involved in different strategic projects such as the firm’s strategy to enhance the financial interests of women in business and its Volunteer Leadership Group, which I chair. The latter is a platform through which we organise employee volunteering and mentoring opportunities.
I definitely had a plan in place from a fairly young age, which I stuck to until I was about 20. It was at that point I realised that I didn’t actually want to be lawyer—a vision I had for myself since I was about 11 years old. Once I realised that wasn’t what I wanted to do I started from scratch!
It might sound really simple, but I would say hard work – balanced with loving what I do – plus extreme attention to detail!
Mentorship is definitely something I am passionate about. I have mentored a number of female colleagues and I definitely think that being able to give advice and share experience with other women and work on confidence is so important. I have mentored a number of female colleagues; to give advice and share experience with other women and work on confidence is so important. Over the years I have worked with people that were like mentors to me, but it is only very recently that I have a more formalized mentor. As a woman, I think there is huge benefit in receiving advice from someone with relevant experiences that can share perspectives and challenges.
Don’t worry about not sticking to the plan. In life there are positive and negative diversions thrown our way; as long as you enjoy what you are doing, all the rest will fall into place.
I actually think it starts earlier than “once you are in the industry.” I believe it starts with education in schools and early parenting. If we don’t teach children of all genders about finance and economics how can we ensure better financial equality? I believe tackling gender bias at an early age and giving young people the power to understand our industry would make a big difference.
From an industry perspective, one way that J.P. Morgan is working to further female advancement is via our Women on The Move initiative. The programme has three main goals which include to expand women-run businesses, improve women’s financial health and advance women’s career growth. Through these efforts, our goal is to help secure an equal future for our female employees, clients and consumers and having been personally involved in a number of these initiatives I have seen first-hand the difference that mentoring and business guidance can make.
