12/09/2026
A personal reflection from our Director, Adam.
Twenty-five years ago yesterday was a day I will never forget.
Itโs incredible to think that 25 years have already passed. In some ways, it feels like yesterday, yet so much has happened in those 25 years.
I had relocated to Japan the previous year and was working for Nikko Salomon Smith Barney in Tokyo. We woke up to the unimaginable news of 9/11. The stock markets didnโt open and the atmosphere in the office was subdued. Everyone was in a state of shock, trying to comprehend what had happened.
Then I received personal news I had been dreading for some time.
My 55-year-old mother had been fighting pancreatic cancer. The cancer had spread to her liver and she was turning yellow. Her fight was coming to an end.
The very next day, September 12th, my family and I flew back to the UK.
It was a surreal experience. Flying home to say goodbye to your 55-year-old mother is something no one should ever have to go through. To be doing so just one day after one of the worst terrorist attacks in modern history made the journey even more surreal.
Narita Airport was eerily quiet, with no queues and very limited flights coming in and out. Who would want to fly anywhere after the horrific acts of terrorism that had occurred the previous day?
When we arrived back in London, it was much the same.
Twenty-five years later, I can still remember the silence, the shock, the uncertainty and the overwhelming feeling that the world would never be the same again.
Some dates stay with you forever. September 11th and 12th are two of those dates for me.
Events like 9/11 remind us that life can change in an instant and that our relationships, memories and time spent with those we love are incredibly precious.
Life has a strange way of reminding us just how precious it is and how quickly everything can change.
