Bill Winters planned to become a diplomat. Instead, a job at J.P. Morgan led him into banking and eventually to a pivotal early-career decision: move into the emerging derivatives business despite knowing little about it.

In this episode of Executive Decisions, the Standard Chartered Group CEO tells Steve Sedgwick why that experience helped shape a career philosophy he still shares with younger colleagues: when rare opportunities arise, sometimes you should “take the reckless path.” For Winters, that doesn't mean being careless; it means being prepared to choose the less conventional route when it offers more to learn.

Winters also reflects on his 26 years at J.P. Morgan, the lessons of the global financial crisis and what it was like to be fired by Jamie Dimon. He explains why he subsequently ignored advice not to join the UK's Independent Commission on Banking and why, six years after leaving J.P. Morgan, he returned to mainstream banking to become CEO of a troubled Standard Chartered.

He also discusses the decisions behind Standard Chartered's turnaround, mistakes he made along the way, leadership, AI and why he believes ambition can sometimes become a curse.

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