Barclays Capital: Recruiting the Best ‘Athletes’

Barclays Capital executives Thomas Kalaris, ’78, Chief Executive, Americas, and Grant Kvalheim, 79, Global Head of Investment Banking and Credit Products, held a fireside chat for first-year students on Thursday, October 21 at the University of Chicago Quadrangle Club. The discussion was moderated by Dean Edward A. Snyder and organized by Chicago GSB MBA Career Services.

We recruit the best possible ‘athletes’ for our firm based on our projection of what type of individual we think they will be in 10 to 15 years, said Kvalheim. Our success in recruiting GSB graduates is in large part due to alignment between the GSBs academic program and the skill set that we need.

Barclays is growing rapidly, and a good chunk of the firm’s growth needs to come out of this room, Kalaris told the students. Chicago is an intellectually honest place, and at Barclays, intellectual rigor wins.

During the two hour informal chat, Kalaris and Kvalheim covered a wide range of topics including the pros and cons of different business models, the investment banking industry, and the firm’s culture.

Of the nine-person executive committee at Barclays Capital, three positions are held by GSB alums: Kalaris, Kvalheim, and Paul Idzik ‘85 (COO).