With the meltdown of the United States financial system in 2008 and the global markets in free fall, NCB Capital Markets was looking precarious. The company’s fortunes were too closely linked with ill-fated Lehman Brothers, the collapsed Wall Street titan. At the time It would have been inconceivable that Christopher Williams, then managing director of the wealth management arm of the National Commercial Bank Group, would have rebounded to claim the coveted spot of No. 1 CEO for 2009.

Such was his standing that when in November 2009 Williams announced plans to leave NCB Capital Markets after six years as managing director, the company’s statement sounded as if it was losing a treasured talent:

“Chris has spent the last six years ably leading his team. We wish to acknowledge the sustained growth of the wealth management subsidiary to date and the contribution it has made, under his stewardship, to the strong performance of our Group,” said NCB Group Managing Director Patrick Hylton. “As he leaves to continue his professional development, we wish him the very best and thank him for the time spent with us.”

Hylton was not just being sentimental. Williams was leaving NCBCM in great shape. In October 2009, NCB announced profits of $10.2 billion for the year ended September 2009. That amount represented an 18 percent increase over the prior year. Of the bank’s revenues, NCB Capital Markets contributed about 10 percent or  $1.7 billion in net profits, an increase of 121 percent over the previous year and contributed $2.5 billion to the Group’s operating profit. Those gaudy numbers helped give their parent company an unprecedented $10.2 billion net profit in September 2009 and earned Williams the No. 1 spot on the 2009 roster of Top 10 CEOs.

“NCB has been the greatest experience of my life, absolutely fantastic,” he told Wednesday Business in an interview shortly after he announced his departure. “We had a lot of fun; made a hell of a lot of money together.”

The 2009 numbers were even more impressive given the uncertainty of the worldwide economy the previous year. The 2009 returns were a marked contrast to the previous year, when NCB took a major hit because of its close ties with Lehman Brothers. The failure of that Wall Street giant cost NCB Capital Markets $1.22 billion near the end of the 2008 fiscal year. Then Williams blamed the problem on NCBCM’s debt exposure to Lehman and his outfit’s failure to spread its risks and assets sufficiently. NCB Capital Markets backed the “borrowings solely with GOJ global bonds.” The company lost money when the price of those bonds dropped precipitously as the American financial system headed toward a meltdown unseen since the 1929 crash.

When asked by the Financial Gleaner to evaluate the problems of 2008, Williams was cautious but unbowed.

“We are in the business of taking risk, that is what the financial institution does. We can’t stop taking risks but we have to be responsible; we can’t ignore the lessons of 07/08,” he said. “The fact that we got caught – as one of the few local institutions to have custodial relationships with Lehman Brothers _ is something we have to learn from and respond to.”

So what was Williams’ response to adversity?  He launched a targeted and aggressive sales blitz, which helped NCBCM rebuild funds under management to $55 billion, up from $45 billion. The unit lost $5 billion in funds under management during the previous year. The wealth arm’s group contribution during the comeback was 19 percent of operating profit, while the insurance division, which Williams also headed, added another 13.7 percent, financial reports showed.

Meeting and overcoming challenges have been a hallmark of Williams’ tenure at NCBCM. He joined NCB Capital Markets in 2004 after stops at Manufacturers Merchant Bank and Dehring, Bunting & Golding. He came in as deputy managing director of the wealth management arm, which until 2002 was known as Edward Gayle and Company. What was a traditional and conservative brokerage house was renamed and rebranded. NCB Capital Markets, a securities firm that would aggressively go after new customers.

Eight months after Williams walked in, he was promoted to managing director. That was his reward for growing market share by 33 percent.

In 2004, Williams told the Financial Gleaner that the evolution from Edward Gayle to NCB Capital Markets was “worked out very carefully.”

“The one thing we needed to bring to the company was energy. The brand was weak and in coming in, we felt that we could resurrect it. The board decided to change the name of the company to breathe new life,” Williams told the Financial Gleaner. He saw the opportunity to build on the powerful NCB name. “You can’t beat that. It is a huge push for us to be associated with that. Next, we used focus groups and interviews with staff to define exactly who we are,” he explained. “We decided we were an entrepreneurial company,” that channeled the spirit of NCBG Executive Chairman Michael Lee Chin.

During his tenure at Jamaica’s major indigenous financial institution, William was considered “one of the bright young stars in the banking sector. He was a banker “with marketing prowess” who helped turn his employer into one of the top securities firms in the country.

Because of the Lehman experience, going forward, the focus had to be on the fundamentals – solid foundation and continued growth.

“Having a sound reading on the environment proved extremely vital, as the company was able to proactively adjust its business models to afford our clients the most practical investment options” framework, Williams said. “Additionally, having gone through the Lehman Brothers write-off, we refocused internally, enhancing our risk management framework to improve our ability to anticipate, assess, monitor and respond to changes in the global, regional and local environment.

“We continued to prudently manage our assets which allowed us to remain the best capitalized primary dealer in Jamaica today. This position has undoubtedly allowed us to provide stability and security to all our clients.”

Williams’ rapid rise up the corporate ladder no doubt included many long days and nights. But he somehow found time for civic involvement. The University of the West Indies graduate and York University (Toronto) MBA has served as chairman of the Jamaica Association for the Deaf, director of the Jamaica College Old Boys Association, director of the Jamaica College Foundation, director of the Jamaica Stock Exchange and vice President of the Jamaica Securities Dealers Association. Since leaving NCBCM, Williams took up the post as president and CEO of  Proven Management Limited.