Charlotte, N.C./April 27, 2023 - Eric Lloyd came from humble beginnings in a small town in Virginia. Today, he serves as president of the global asset management firm, Barings.
But his journey to Barings came with many high, lows, changes and decisions that formed him into the leader he is today.
He took time on Monday, April 24, 2023, to discuss his path to leadership during the inaugural Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series sponsored by Barings. During the discussion, which was moderated by Clarence D. Armbrister, Johnson C. Smith University’s 14th president, Lloyd highlighted the tenents of good leadership.
“Be yourself, be genuine and be authentic,” he said to the crowd of nearly 100 attendees. “I think most people can sniff out the person in the room who isn’t authentic pretty quickly. When you’re authentic, it makes it easier to connect with people. So many people think it’s the big things and decisions that make up a good leader, but it is the sum total of all the small things that do.”
Lloyd leads a diverse set of organizations, including cross-asset investment, sales and marketing, ESG, business and product development and research. Prior to his time at Barings, Lloyd served as Head of Market and Institutional Risk for Wells Fargo. In all he has worked in the financial industry for more than 30 years.
He encouraged the crowd, which included nearly 40 students, to dream big and believe in themselves and to leave a company better than they found it.
For Lloyd, leadership goes beyond the company and into the community. Barings was an early supporter of the Mayor’s Racial Equity Initiative, which was created in 2021 by Mayor Vi Lyles to address disparities and barriers to opportunities for people of color in the city of Charlotte.
“When you can bring the business, private and public sectors together under a shared purpose, that’s when you can make systemic change,” said Lloyd. “As for Barings, our real end-game is for our teammates to reflect the communities where we work and live.”
The lecture was followed by a Q and A session, where students asked questions to learn more about leadership and the financial industry.
Dr. Alphonso O. Ogbuehi, dean of the College of Business and Professional Studies at JCSU, said that the event was a success, and that feedback was tremendously positive.
Developed in partnership with the University, the distinguished lecture series is an additional activation of JCSU’s long-term partnership with Barings. The partnership also includes recurring $10,000 scholarships for JCSU students, an endowed professorship, the launch of an introductory to asset management course, as well as additional funds to support JCSU’s strategic initiatives. JCSU and Barings hope the partnership results in expanded opportunities in the asset management industry for JCSU students and the broader community.
