Billion Dollar Backstory 114: John Bowman, CEO of CAIA, on Founder-Led Sales, Listening Tours, and Why Empathy Wins in Finance
What if the most powerful thing a CEO can do… is show up?
That’s exactly what John Bowman is doing. As the new CEO of CAIA, he’s not sitting behind a desk or delegating from an ivory tower. He’s on a plane, in person, listening to the very people his organization serves.
In this episode, Stacy sits down with John to talk about the underrated power of founder-led sales (even when you’re leading a global organization), the ROI of empathy, and why success in finance is less about numbers and more about people than you think.
They dig into:
- John’s backstory: The leadership lesson he learned after getting laid off at 29 with three kids
- Why walking the “listening tour” isn’t just smart, it’s essential
- How storytelling shaped his career in this number-obsessed industry
- What CAIA’s member-first strategy can teach every founder and fund manager
Why he believes rejection is almost always redirection that’s either protecting you or leading you to where you’re meant to be
More About John:
John was appointed CEO for the CAIA Association in January 2025. He has devoted over 25 years to the asset management industry to recover the narrative of the value that the investment profession brings to society. He is a staunch public advocate for market integrity, long-termism, investor outcomes, diversity, human dignity and educational standards, as necessary ingredients to building a sustainable and healthy profession.
John previously served as Managing Director for the Americas for CFA Institute, a region comprised of 40+ countries from Canada, the U.S., Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Before that, John was a portfolio manager for non-US equity strategies at both Boston Company and SSgA for several years.
John is a prolific, speaker,writer and commentator, frequently keynoting industry conferences and appearing in investment and business publications such as the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Pension and Investments, Financial Advisor, The Independent, Wealthmanagement.com and CNBC. Bowman earned a BS in Business Administration from Mary Washington College and is a CFA charterholder.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
- The Advantage – Patrick Lencioni | https://a.co/d/2msVUSw
- The 6 Types of Working Genius — Patrick M. Lencioni | https://a.co/d/15S3sKW
- Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us — Seth Godin | https://a.co/d/ajf88KP
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