Dina de Angelo

The word ‘mentor’ comes from Greek meaning ‘advisor’ and ‘to think’. It is a term (mis)used in all manner of ways today but in the case of Dina de Angelo, it is perfectly suited to describe who she is in both her professional, social and private life.

Speaking of Dina colleagues use words such as ‘quiet’ and ‘graceful’ frequently juxtaposed with ‘powerful’. Strong values were instilled in Dina from her early childhood in Greenwich, Connecticut. “In my family, you bring everyone along with you, through the good times and the bad. No one gets left behind”. At the age of 11, Dina went to a convent school in Italy and kept the nuns on their toes by being very naughty. One night she escaped out a window, scrambled across the roof and down a drain pipe just to see if she could. “I survived. I’ve always pioneered my own path, it’s made me who I am“.  

Back in the US, Dina started her career at the Bessemer Trust Company in New York. “They taught me what it means to be a private banker and gave me a lot of responsibility at a young age. I was expected to deliver exemplary service of highly sophisticated banking solutions and they let me get on with it. I did well and moved to their London office in 1983 to look after their international base & founding family members before joining NM Rothschild to run their international private banking desk.

Dina started mentoring despite never formally having a mentor of her own “but there are a lot of people I’ve listened to”. Her inclusive nature means that mentoring has become part of who she is. “I’ve had an incredible career, I feel a sense of responsibility to pass on whatever I can to the next generation.” 

Dina started mentoring despite never formally having a mentor of her own “but there are a lot of people I’ve listened to”. Her inclusive nature means that mentoring has become part of who she is. “I’ve had an incredible career, I feel a sense of responsibility to pass on whatever I can to the next generation.”  

Admittedly being a woman in finance has meant that her career path has not always been easy. While she’s never been made to feel different, “I’ve had some lows. Some dark, seemingly never-ending lows. It’s important not to give up. Looking back, those are the times that I grew the most.” Similarly for setbacks. “You have to make mistakes. It’s how you recover. You find a way to back up again.” It is a valuable message that she regularly infuses across her exchanges with peers and colleagues. 

Today, it brings Dina great joy and pride to watch young people flourish. The challenging cases are the most rewarding. Dina recently coached a young man at the bank who was lacking confidence when he first joined and didn’t feel he fit the private banking mould. They spent five months together. “He went from ‘I don’t belong here’ to progressing in his career and feeling he has a place at the table.” So what does she tell her mentees? “It’s less about what you say and more about being a good listener, finding a constructive way for them to find their voice. Then building enough confidence to use it.”

Dina is certain that women are a natural fit to wealth management saying building, nurturing and managing relationships is simply “inbuilt in our DNA”. She helped found and launch the ‘Senior Women’s Private Banking Network’ (currently with 81 members across Pictet), that meets online every 6-8 weeks and in person twice a year since 2019. The aim is simple, “to collaborate on best practices and help each other grow our respective businesses. The events are also an opportunity to share tips and tricks, tools to progress and of course get to know one another. “We knew we were there, but we’d rarely spoken!” 

She brings an element of empowerment to all her endeavours. Last year, Dina launched ‘Women and Wealth’, events targeted at clients and intermediaries that go beyond the usual client-meeting-their-private-banker. “They’re about meeting the people ‘in the shadows’ who manage their money every day. It’s also an opportunity to showcase our internal talent who aren’t usually ‘seen’”. 

Dina reenergises by spending time in her garden in the countryside, outside London. In stark contrast to her elegantly styled appearance at work, she channels her inner Capability Brown and likes to get stuck in, elbow-deep in her flower garden or plot for hours in her potting shed. 

She occasionally plays polo, a young adulthood passion that she nearly gave up after a nasty accident when she was 21. “I got back on the horse but avoided polo for a long time until eventually, I thought ‘get a grip. Just have a go’.” So she did. And once again, Dina rose out of the dark place, not the same but improved. Greater than the sum of her put-back-together parts. 

When she’s not advising, mentoring or digging up weeds, Dina is a Managing Director and Team Lead for Pictet Wealth Management, based in London, UK.