Ethics and Leadership: An Executive’s Perspective – Trevor Gordon

Trevor Gordon

Trevor is the Founder and CEO of SANDLAPPER Securities, LLC and our newest Benefactor level member of the Rutland Ethics Alliance. In November SANDLAPPER was recognized in Columbia as the fastest growing small company of South Carolina. In October the company was also named number one in the SC BIZ Roaring Twenties list of twenty small companies ($10 million and under) that demonstrated the most year-over-year revenue growth.

Q.      How long have you been in the financial services industry and what changes have impacted you most?

A.      I began my career in the financial services industry almost 23 years ago at the very bottom of the totem pole pushing the mailroom cart for a large regional broker dealer in Florida.

Q.      When did you start SANDLAPPER Securities? Was this the first time that you “went out on your own”?

A.      I started SANDLAPPER Securities in 2005 as the dealer manager for syndicated programs my partners and I were doing at TIC Properties.  It wasn’t unit late 2010 that I spun the company off.

Q.      What are SANDLAPPER Securities values and vision? How have you been able to interject in this company your particular passion in managing and growing a business and its people?

A.      Our core philosophy is that reputation is the only thing we can’t buy so it has to be guarded above all else.  The only way to really manage and protect reputation is to make sure you are always doing right by your customers, employees, partners and the markets you serve.

Q.      How do you emphasize ethics and integrity at SANDLAPPER Securities?

A.      Leading by example.  Understanding that sometimes you have to take your lumps when things don’t go right and take responsibility for your actions.  As I said prior, reputation is the only thing we can’t buy.  It is not just a hollow saying in our firm; it is a driver of our business.

Q.      What has been one of the greatest challenges in your career (whether at SANDLAPPER or elsewhere) and how did you face it?

A.      Finding myself out on the street for standing up with a client against the firm I worked for.  I wasn’t sure what I would do when I got bounced, but in the spirit of falling up, I used the opportunity to propel my career forward and wore, and continue to wear, that termination as a badge of honor because I know I did the right thing.

Q.      What has been the most rewarding part of running the business to date?

A. Developing those around me.  Having started literally at the bottom of this industry I know what you can do.  It is tremendously rewarding to watch the development and expansion of my team.

Q.      It didn’t take you long to decide to become a member of the Rutland Ethics Alliance. Why was that?

A. I felt that the mission and core values were right in alignment with SANDLAPPER Securities and our affiliated organizations. I have found that earning a living doing the right thing is not as difficult as some would think and it was nice to see that this organization follows that same mantra.

Q.      Do you have a call to action for readers of this edition of Issues & Perspectives?

A. Get out there and follow your dreams.  Hard work, determination and doing the right thing will take you a long way.

 

Trevor Gordon began his career 22 years ago literally at the bottom as mail distribution clerk. Today, he is Founder and CEO of SANDLAPPER Securities, LLC. He is a proven entrepreneur and has always been an industry vanguard, identifying gaps in client needs and then developing appropriate businesses to fill these voids. He is CEO of several thriving businesses, including insurance, wealth management and niche investment products.

Mr. Gordon is active within his professional industry as well as his community and is a on the Board of Directors for the Center for Developmental Services. He earned an MBA and BBA  from Kennedy Western University. He is a Life Member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW).