Team-First Leadership: John Halaby of Harbor Capital on Building Winning Sales Teams

In this episode of the Rainmaker Podcast, host Gui Costin interviews John Halaby, Executive Vice President and Head of Distribution at Harbor Capital. Halaby shares insights from his 32-year career in financial distribution, highlighting his leadership philosophy of building trust and fostering a team-first culture.
He explains Harbor Capital's distribution strategy, which involves partnering with boutique managers globally and leveraging a combination of sales, marketing, and data analytics to drive success. With a growing team of 85, Harbor Capital focuses on freeing salespeople from administrative tasks, allowing them to focus on building relationships and closing deals.
Halaby also emphasizes the importance of using data and CRM systems, like Salesforce, to enhance productivity and tailor sales strategies. He stresses continuous feedback and transparency, from internal sales meetings to executive committee updates, as key to the firm's success. Halaby advises young professionals to build supportive peer networks and highlights the importance of recruiting and retaining great talent.