Mike Westlake:
(NatWest / BT / Cantor colleague)
Rich Lee has been a close friend of mine ever since I first
worked for him. A new boss coming on board can often be a difficult time for
all involved but Rich was open and honest from the start. His combination of
technical and people skills made him the ideal manager in the high risk and
aggressive world of financial technology. His combination of generosity and
humour made him an ideal friend for me.
Rich had a thirst for knowledge, and for the practical
implementation of that knowledge. This made him such a good leader in
implementing technology in financial institutions because he would only deliver
solutions that would work under demanding circumstances. He always wanted to
understand new ideas or products in order to see whether he could use them to
improve his own or his teams abilities. Rich also paid attention to detail, he
documented processes and why they worked a certain way and built in reliability
to his solutions. It was this attention to detail that ended up being one of
his key legacies to eSpeed and Cantor Fitzgerald. Rich initially managed
central development; covering middle, back office and financial systems, before
changing roles to manage equities technology globally. Following the WTC
disaster these applications were up and running to full capacity by the time
the markets were back in action. Given the enormity of the disaster in both
people and infrastructure terms this is an outstanding achievement which was
only made possible due to the processes which Rich had been so influential in
implementing.
Rich was also a great manager of professional people. His
key skill was his ability to build teams. He inspired everyone who worked for
him and earned loyalty and respect that is still apparent today, years later.
He spoke and showed respect to everyone in the workplace and gave people praise
and responsibility as it was earned, encouragement where it was needed He
recognized that he managed intelligent people and that each opinion held value.
Rich also understood that there are times to forget the job and just enjoy the
occasion and this was greatly appreciated by all who worked for and with him.
His ability to build such friendly environments in such an
aggressive business was largely due to his own sense of security in his
personal life. He always made his love and pride for you (Karen) unashamedly
clear. Privately he often expressed amazement at the fact that he had found his
ideal partner. The arrival of Zach (their son) was the icing on the cake for
Rich. I have been inundated with CDs containing filming of family celebrations
and days out. It was just another way of Rich sharing his happiness around. He
was truly happy !!
As a personal friend Rich was always available. When I was
in New York, as you know, I was always invited to dinner, as long as I was
happy watching the Simpsons first. In London we would always go out with
friends, Paul and Stuart among others. As ever Rich was generous with his time.
We spoke regularly and he would always advise me and help me in my career.
Personally I am grateful to God for Rich. He was a good
friend in what is at times a difficult world and I know that I am a better and
happier person because of him. I will remember his generosity and kindness but
most of all I will remember his good humour.
Finally I will never forget the day he smashed up his
keyboard, I was so pleased he was human.