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Episode 17 – Robin Lumsden, Founder & Managing Partner, Lumsden & Partners

Today, we meet Dr. Robert Lumsden, who has gone from a tennis player to the Special Forces, to law, to business, and now to owning a sports franchise. He is always paying attention to building his brand, getting out of his comfort zone, and thinking about what he can do for other people to build the relationships that will, in turn, make him successful.

Topics discussed:

The principles of 7 Rules of Power he uses to build his career

The jobs Robin held before attending Stanford, beginning at age seven

What it is like to be an adversary for some of the most famous lawyers in the U.S.

Three of his most significant deals and why he didn’t get a Porsche in one of them

Why he came to GSB and what he learned there

Why his goal at GSB was to know the successful professors and business people

How he got into Condoleezza Rice and Eric Schmidt’s classes

How he used his time at Stanford to build his brand in Austria

His motive behind building a fantastic media presence

The importance of delivering considerable value to your peers

Overcoming certain cultural barriers

The varying roles of showing up authentically

Using specific times of day to your advantage

The power of getting out of your own way

Where mentors can lead you

The power of pictures

What’s next in Robin’s career

GUEST BIO

Dr. Robin L. Lumsden MSx (Stanford) MA Economics (Stanford) LL.M. (Berkeley)

Robin is the founder and managing partner of M&A law firm Lumsden & Partners, one of the most successful boutique law firms in Austria, founded in recent years. Robin, who is a member of the bar in Austria, New York and Washington D.C. spent more than 15 years as a corporate lawyer and advised clients such as Volkswagen on its €3.9 billion acquisition of Porsche and General Electric on its sale of its plastics division to Sabic for US $11.6 billion.

Whilst conducting his studies at Stanford (MSx & MA in economics) he worked on a digital asset fund with Sebastian Schwarzenegger, invested in blockchain and crypto businesses. He sits on various boards of trusts of high-net-worth individuals. He further was an advisor to Palantir & personally to its CEO Alex Karp, GE, Google and the Schwarzenegger family. Robin is also an officer with the Austrian Special Forces (equivalent to the Navy Seals). His military experience has shaped his character and made him appreciate teamwork.

Previously, as a junior Robin was a professional tennis athlete, playing inter alia at Wimbledon. Recently, Robin acquired the majority of the American Football Franchise, “Vienna Vikings” in Austria, a team that won the EuroBowl (equivalent to the Super Bowl in Europe) in 2022 against Hamburg.

www.lumsden.at

www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_0cwys_EMM