it certainly gets more interesting; more so for cfe as centaurus...

it certainly gets more interesting; more so for cfe as centaurus has certainly run the rule over this co WITH ITS CASH BOX. this is what this centaurus animal looks like:

CEO Interview Bernard Oppetit
Centaurus is one of the largest European hedge fund managers dedicated to event driven and credit strategies. It was founded in 2000 by Bernard Oppetit who spent over twenty years at Paribas, latterly as head of equity derivatives responsible for trading desks in London, Paris, New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
How do you see your role as CEO?
When Centaurus began eight years ago, we were five and everyone did everything including the coffee; today the team is operationally collegial and employs c. 45 people. I am the founder but now one of five Partners who run the business together we divide the work load and work very closely together. My main role in the business is to look at the bigger picture in addition to finding good investments.
How important is your personal profile in the business?
When starting any new business personal profile is important because you do have to rely on personal relationships and reputation. But once the firm becomes established it becomes less so and the business world should know Centaurus as a smart investor rather than associated to any one person.
What is the most important thing you have learnt in your career?
Reputation. I spent 20 years at Paribas in a variety of roles in London, New York and Paris which was interesting and I was always looked after very well. Like any young banker when you are establishing yourself in an institution it can be easy to look at other banks and see individuals doing exactly the same role as you are but taking home many times more than you are getting paid and at the time this can be frustrating. However with experience you realise that the reputation you acquire is far more important than any balance sheet assessment and this is a very valuable intangible asset.
Are you risk averse?
I am very risk averse by nature. What people dont always realise is that investment and trading are the opposite of gambling. Gamblers like taking risk and play negative sum games whilst investors trade wanting never to lose money and would rather take the certainty of making some money rather than risk a lot it is hard to quantify and you need to understand why you are doing it.
Centaurus prides itself on its research capability and we spend a lot of time studying companies to gain what we hope is a better understanding than the rest of the market, investigating how firms are built and spending a lot of time with company management teams. Only when we have a strong enough conviction that an investment is the right decision to take do we take it, but no matter how convinced you are you could still get it wrong.
Centaurus also has an internal rule in place where we will not invest and therefore not risk losing more than a certain percentage of the fund on any one idea.