How Citadel’s Ken Griffin recruits his C-suite: ‘We hire people who are winners in life’ 

“History is written by the winners,” he told the Wall Street Journal in a lengthy profile. His focus on vanquishing competitors is evident within Citadel, where he’s viewed internally as an intense and demanding boss who loathes complacency—and hires with this aversion front of mind.

In a recent investor letter, the financier, who’s worth an estimated $42 billion, wrote that he wants to “create the most formidable team in the history of hedge funds.” He echoed this sentiment to the Journal, stating that he hires people who are “winners in life” because “winners in finance is often not enough.”

Case in point, he said, his head of risk, Joanna Welsh, is a champion powerlifter. And his co-chief investment officer, Pablo Salame, is a former teenage tennis star who rose to the executive ranks at Goldman’s trading division before joining Citadel.

The hiring process at the company is extensive and thorough, too. Job candidates are tasked with completing a lengthy professional assessment and answering questions about their childhood goals and accomplishments.

As for the concrete skills he seeks, Griffin said Citadel appreciates those who are good communicators, good collaborators, and good problem solvers and who encourage debates to arrive at a strong conclusion. 

In November, he spoke at the London School of Economics about the need to bring passion to one’s work, reiterating his victor-only mantra. As the world becomes more winner-takes-all, “it disproportionately favors those who have domain expertise, the mental agility, the adaptability, and the willingness to put in the time, the energy, and the effort,” he said at the time.

“Without passion, you are not likely to have the perseverance to be the best at what you’re doing.” 

Natalie McCormick
natalie.mccormick@fortune.com

Today’s newsletter was edited by Ruth Umoh

Leadership lessons

Great leaders are realists. They're practical, centered, and extremely matter-of-fact about challenges and solutions, Griffin said on the In Good Company podcast earlier this year.

“They don't suffer from the sunk cost fallacy, suffer from undue hope when a situation is not hopeful, and they make good, rational decisions all the time.”

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