Snow, Skis and Sand
By Philip Craig, Waters
1 January 2006
URL: http://www.watersonline.com/public/showPage.html?page=309308
At Waters, we know it’s winter when our annual trip to Hawaii comes around. But what of the IT professionals who toil long and hard to keep the trading floors and the back offices humming? We found out who’s going where this winter—and just who will be the target for some stinging snowballs.
STEVE RUBINOW, CTO, Archipelago Holdings
What is your favorite winter activity?
I like the challenge of climbing tall mountain peaks—above 7,000 meters—in the winter, but given that the highest peak in Illinois is 400 meters, I settle for sledding on a local hill.
Do you have any winter getaway plans?
None at the present time, but a last-minute getaway is always possible and that tends to be in New Mexico, Arizona or occasionally Florida.
What are your New Year’s resolutions?
I want to do what I can to stay healthy and to make the pending merger between our company and the New York Stock Exchange a great success.
How do you avoid the winter blues?
Get as much sunlight as possible and don’t overeat.
What is your fireside reading?
Historical Dynamics: Why States Rise and Fall by Peter Turchin, and Choctaw Language and Culture: Chahta Anumpa by Grayson Noley.
Who is your perfect snowball target?
Any competitor.
LUCINDA LAMBOURNE, global information officer for markets and clients, ABN Amro
What is your favorite winter activity?
I am a keen downhill skier and try to ski as much as I can.
Where will you spend your winter holidays?
I will be spending Christmas with my family at my sister’s house. She has four children so it is always good family fun. Then I will be going to the ski chalet I co-own in France.
What are your New Year’s resolutions?
The key one this year is to get fit, as I have committed to taking part in a triathlon next spring.
How do you avoid the winter blues?
I don’t tend to get them, so no real need to avoid them!
What is your fireside reading?
I am currently reading We Need To Talk About Kevin, a rather dark book about the mother of a teenage murderer.
Who is your perfect snowball target?
I have several: my nieces and nephews, who I will be spending Christmas with; and my partner in the chalet venture is always good to have a snowball fight with!
TODD LOUDENSLAGER, director of enterprise risk management, US Bancorp
What is your favorite winter activity?
Reading by the fire when I’m inside, and camping and skiing when I’m outside.
Do you have any winter getaway plans?
In early 2006, I have plans for a Florida trip.
What are your New Year’s resolutions?
To keep up the exercise routine, treat others with respect, keep people educated about risk management, and build a waterfall in the back yard.
How do you avoid the winter blues?
Busy hands are happy hands. I’ll stay involved in kids’ sports, community activities and personal development.
Who is your perfect snowball target?
Anyone who doesn’t take risk management seriously.
PJ DI GIAMMARINO, co-chair of the MiFID Joint Working Group
What is your favorite winter activity?
Collecting mulled wine and eggnog recipes.
Where will you spend your winter holidays?
Chasing my children in Notting Hill, London.
How do you avoid the winter blues?
I will be reading the final draft of the MiFID regulation.
What is your fireside reading?
Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner.
Who is your perfect snowball target?
Reporters and consultants who should know better than to mislead the market by positioning MiFID as just “hype.”
CHRIS MICHAELS, head of IT Europe, GFI
What is your favorite winter activity?
Skiing.
What are your New Year’s resolutions?
I never make any.
How do you avoid the winter blues?
I work through them.
What is your fireside reading this season?
The Times Sports Review of the Year.
Where will you spend your winter holidays?
I will be working, but I will also be spending some time at home with the wife and the children in Essex, which is east of London.
Who is your perfect snowball target?
Machines that dispense poor-quality coffee.
STUART TURNER, head of market operations, Dubai International Financial Exchange
What is your favorite winter activity?
I like to ski—and as I live in Dubai, I can do this any day or night of the week. Dubai now has one of the world’s largest indoor ski slopes with real snow.
Where will you spend your winter holidays?
With my family in Northern Germany, on the windswept shores of the Baltic Sea.
Do you have any winter getaway plans?
Skiing in Iran—I need to ski outdoors sometimes—and lots of weekends driving and camping in the desert, as it is now cool enough to do so.
How do you avoid the winter blues?
I don’t really get them living in Dubai, where every day is sunny and you can go and sit on the beach, which is only a few blocks from home.
What is your fireside reading?
The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East, by Robert Fisk; Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins; and Pandora’s Star, by Peter Hamilton.
Who is your perfect snowball target?
My bosses!
Steven C. Rubinow 