Mark Bowden is recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts in nonverbal communication. As the co-founder of the communications training company Truthplane, he has worked with business leaders and employees of influential global companies including Zoom, Shopify, Toyota, KPMG and American Express. He has also coached the leaders of G7 nations and the U.S. Army and NATO.
A best-selling author, Mark has written four books and worked as a presentation trainer for the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA, ranked No. 1 in the world by The Economist. His highly acclaimed TEDx talk “The Importance of Being In-Authentic” continues to reach millions of people, as does his YouTube channel and the weekly YouTube sensation “The Behavior Panel” with more than 100 million views, as featured regularly on Dr. Phil.
In his investment portfolio, Mark owns a large share of a private company in the gas industry as well as a handful of equities and lots of GICs. He has a huge art collection, and has enjoyed a significant financial tailwind as the longtime owner of two Toronto properties.
Fun fact: He was the “Nike Streaker” in the 2003 Super Bowl advertisement once identified by Adweek as one of the top 10 soccer commercials ever made.
Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born in Northampton, an old industrial shoemaking town in England’s East Midlands (the town’s factories have supplied more than 23 million pairs of boots to the armed forces) and lived there until I was 17. I then lived in London and worked in various parts of England and the rest of the world before moving to Toronto in 2005.
What did your parents teach you about money or success?
Both my parents came from strong working-class backgrounds. My grandmother on my father’s side worked in service in a huge aristocratic mansion, Wentworth House, owned at that time by the Fitzwilliam family, and my grandfather drove lorries full of lime at a nearby mine. My dad was a teacher and my mom had her own hairdressing salon in our house. Both parents taught me to work hard, make money, save and avoid consumer credit.
How did your early diagnosis of dyslexia shape your life perspective?
Dyslexia certainly made school tricky. On the positive side, I got very good at getting around things and achieving success via less common avenues. I became obsessed with the physical world around me, how people reacted to what I said and did, and how I could use that information effectively.
Dyslexia causes you to think very differently from most other people: I see lots and lots of connections between things. If, for example, I can’t recall the name for the object that is a ‘glass of water’… I will notice the glass from many different angles, such as how it is sitting on the table, what else is in the room at the time, or how people normally hold their glasses. I came to realize that this way of thinking is an asset in business. I have an ability to come up with ideas and solutions that others may not think of.
How did you get the big idea to become an international body language expert?
For many years had been offering communications training to people in business and politics. When I moved to Toronto in 2005 I thought long and hard about how I could stand out in that category.
I knew one thing for certain: People are watching your behaviour before they even listen to you. In fact, if you concentrate on your behaviour you can beat the person who has the better message. I decided to focus on this and make body language my business. I wanted to show up in a category that not many people were competing over. At the time, international experts in body language weren’t really a common thing.
Today I spend lots of my time training salespeople (mainly investment advisors) in adopting the best body language for approaching clients. This boils down to a simple premise: We can use our body language to distinguish ourselves, earn trust and build credibility whenever we communicate with our clients. A common body language gaffe? Touching our faces or covering our mouths while talking. This actually suggests that we may be being untruthful or don’t believe what we’re saying.
Back when I started, I didn’t do any marketing at all – everything was word-of-mouth. I put a couple of key messages out there: 1.) Behaviour is key to communication and 2.) I am a world expert in body language.
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Now you can put out messages but you have to make sure that you don’t disappoint people. The messages have to be true. I felt strongly that it was true that body language defines the message and it was true that I was the expert. I communicated this relentlessly. I tell everyone about my messages whether I’m buying a coffee or in a supermarket. Most people aren’t relentless – it is so important to communicate your passion and expertise rather than giving a job description.
What is your investment philosophy?
I like to have a balance between asset classes, but within each category I am all-or-nothing. To get my investment ideas I just watch the world. What are people consuming? What am I consuming? I’m mainly into media and the internet.
I bought the very first edition of Wired magazine in April 1993 and was thrilled to find that my hero Douglas Adams had written a column on the last page. I had just got email and I noticed he had included his email address at the end of his column. I sent him a note that said “Hey Douglas, I just got email – it’s cool isn’t it?” He wrote back right away and said “Yeah …it’s really cool!” This was so huge for me: I could write to a famous writer and he would write back. He didn’t go, “You’re an idiot” like I was called in school for being dyslexic. I thought to myself that the internet will be huge!
What’s in your investment portfolio?
Real estate: I own a home in Yorkville and a condo at Queen and Beverley. While I was in England all of my money had come from buying building societies that got “carpetbagged” and were bought by banks. I used my cash proceeds to invest in Toronto real estate and leveraged our home equity to purchase a second property.
A private company: I own a large part of a private company that offers forward selling of natural gas (e.g., fixes gas prices) to consumers and businesses.
A handful of stocks: I have Shopify and Zoom, both bought early on when I started working with those companies training their senior leadership teams. I thought the idea behind these companies and the people involved were genius. I also have Uber. For some dyslexics like me it is very difficult to know left from right, and so passing a driving test can feel near impossible. You should see my Uber bill every month! Another trend I invested in that we at home were spending money on was Beyond Meat. I see each one of these as very long term investments although they have been excellent in the short term for me too.
GICs: I own a lot of them as a way of balancing my other concentrated bets.
What do you do for fun?
Well, a lot of people found out I have a good sense for fun when I appeared as the “Nike Streaker” in the 2003 Super Bowl ad. I was paid to streak through an English football match wearing nothing but a scarf and Nike Shox shoes. The ad was identified by Adweek as one of the top 10 soccer commercials ever made, and this led to me being awarded a “Nude of the Week” in Sports Illustrated.
Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Writer Barbara Stewart is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 30 years of investment industry experience. She spent five years as a foreign currency trader, more than two decades as a portfolio manager for high-net-worth entrepreneurs, and for the past six years she has been performing interview-driven research for financial institutions around the world. Barbara is a keynote speaker for CFA Societies, banks, stock exchanges and industry conferences globally, and she is a columnist for CFA Institute and Canadian Money Saver magazine. She is on the advisory board of Kensington Capital Partners and also is the Ambassador for the Kensington Women’s Forum. In addition, 13 years ago Barbara saw a need to challenge outdated financial industry stereotypes and share positive messages about women and money. Today, Barbara is recognized worldwide as one of the leading researchers in women and finance. Her Rich Thinking® global research papers quote smart women and men of all ages, professions and countries and are released annually on International Women’s Day, March 8. To find out more about Barbara’s research, visit www.barbarastewart.ca.
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