Full Name: Michael Winston Scherb

Position: Founder and CEO of Appian Capital Advisory

Main Activity of the Company: Appian Capital Advisory is a private capital provider to the metals and mining and mining-adjacent sectors

Date and Place of Birth: November 5, 1981, Taichung, Taiwan

Nationality: Half Austrian and half Singaporean

Schools and Tertiary Education: I grew up in seven countries across Asia, Europe and the US, with a different school each time

First Job: Bagging groceries at a Krogers department store in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the US, and then working in the kitchen at a steakhouse in Canterbury, UK, for additional income during university

Career History Prior to Current Position: I started my career in Beijing, China, structuring foreign investment, and then joined JPMorgan’s Metals and Mining team in London, where I advised on $185-billion worth of deals before founding Appian

Size of First Pay Packet: I received the minimum wage at Krogers and less than the minimum wage at the steakhouse, as they factored shared tips into the pay

First Job with Present Group: Founder and CEO

Value of Assets under Your Control: About $6-billion (including co-investments)

Number of People under Your Leadership: About 70 in the fund and about 6 600 in the portfolio companies

Management Style: High intensity and results orientated, but also encouraging of continual learning and second-level thinking within the team

Personal Best Achievement: The birth of my sons

Professional Best Achievement: Founding Appian aged 29

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: Our initial investors, who believed in the vision

Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Howard Marks

Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Chip Goodyear

Biggest Ever Opportunity: Finding an industry crucial to society which was also highly inefficient and with high barriers to entry for competing capital

Favourite Reading: The Most Important Thing, by Howard Marks, or Big Deal, by Bruce Wasserstein, although all books on investing and history, and biographies are worth a read

Favourite TV Programme: Any sporting event

Favourite Food/Drink: All food, Super Tuscan red wines

Favourite Music: Anything from Blues to Deep House and everything in between

Favourite Sport: US university American football and basketball

Hobbies: All sports, travel, art, food, shooting, music, hiking and attempting to parent

How Do You Give Back: Mainly through the Appian Way Charitable Foundation, which has created about 11 000 jobs adjacent to our primary operations

Car: Tesla

Pets: None – I travel too much

Miscellaneous Dislikes: Lack of effort

Days Spent Travelling in a Normal Year: More than 200

Children: Maximilian and Caspian

Favourite Clubs: West Ham United, Ohio State football and Cincinati Bearcat basketball