California Inspirations profiles people with inspirational stories. Not famous or rich people necessarily, rather people whose life experiences embody the positive power of the human spirit whether in business or the community.
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Title: CEO
Company: United Capital Financial Partners
Birthplace: I was born in Barcelona but grew up in Zimbabwe. I moved to the U.S. in the late 80's - I was traveling the world and ended up in California. I grew up with the American dream - watching "Dallas" I wanted to be like JR Ewing (in a good way!) and be a successful businessman. When I was 14 I told my mom I was going to be business superstar in America and she wished me luck, not really believing I would do it. I travelled the world working odd jobs and started school in the U.S., meeting my wife of 20 years in Madrid while we were both studying there. We moved back to California to work in a start up business.
Education: My undergraduate degree is from Saint Louis University. I hold the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and I earned MBA degrees from both UC Berkeley and Columbia University. I put myself through school. I think it is this experience that has made me so passionate about education.
What's the background to the business? I started with a small Registered Investment Advisory firm in 1992, which we grew to multi-billion dollars in assets. We sold that company to GE Financial when I was 34 in an all-cash, nine figure transaction. After that I had a two year non-compete so I wrote my second book "Start It, Sell It & Make A Mint." I didn't want to retire - I'm passionate about making a difference in people's lives so I started United Capital 6 years ago with the mission of helping people achieve a genuine empowerment over their entire financial lives.
We are consistently one of the fastest growing financial services firms and have grown to 300 employees in six years. We are approaching $100 million in revenue and over $15 billion in assets under advisement.
We raised $36 million in outside capital from Grail Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners. Our goal is to double revenues every couple of years. We have private equity investors and also give stock to our employees we are 60% owned by employees and 40% by outside investors.
Business goal for the next 12 months: To invest very heavily in building the first billion dollar brand in our space. We have hired new senior level executives who are transforming how our team works. We work in 18-month increments so we plan to be busy for the next year, continuing to grow and taking our firm to the next level. With our group, we believe that every 24-36 months we need a fundamental change to keep us cutting-edge, so we are always innovating.
Advice you wish you had received: That you cannot succeed happily if you do not understand yourself. Success happened when I became an honest student of myself and I learned to apply more humility to my life. My first business was an ego-driven enterprise but this time I have spent more time trying to understand my own weaknesses. I believe that I have become better as a CEO and that we are better as a company because of it. I wish that early on I had had the same level of humility and introspection.
Best business decision: I think it would have to be that I have never lived a day doing something I'm not proud of. I think the best specific decision I have made is always around hiring decisions. Because we are in the service business, every time I've hired someone better than me, I have never regretted it. When I see the amazing people around me it is a constant reminder that I need to hire people better than me.
Toughest business decision: In 2008-09 we cut the management team's pay to the bare bones in order not to have to terminate people. It was extremely hard for me to look at people who had entrusted their lives to me and to tell them they would have a hard year personally. We all knew that if we didn't do that we wouldn't be a thriving business at the end of the year, but it wasn't easy.
Person most admired: Nelson Mandela. He changed the world with humility, responsibility and a loyalty to fairness and to people that never wavered.
Like most about job: I love the fact that I can make a positive impact. My singular mission in life is to improve the lives of the people I touch. I believe that I have helped to build a company that is making a difference. Every year, we ask our clients and employees if we have improved their lives and made it easier, which is a measureable goal. Our goal this year is to positively impact 100,000 lives; right now we're around 50,000 lives and I'm feeling positive that we'll hit it. We like to pick a number that is a huge reach, so even if we fall short, it's still a big number.
Like least about job: The stress. It's a huge burden to know that decisions I make can have serious implications. It's not always easy for me to find ways to be comfortable with the notion that I've done everything I can do and that I can't do any more. I think the second thing would be that, as you get bigger, people feel more comfortable saying negative things about you that aren't necessarily true and that is emotionally hard; it hurts deeply.
Dream job: I live it! I am on this planet doing what I want to do! I love running a company. I have written three books. My most recent book came out in January 2013. I'm surrounded by creative people I love, which gives me energy. I can't imagine doing anything else and my wife says I'll be doing it until I'm 100 years old. That said, I'm a huge believer in balance and make sure that I'm always home to cook dinner for our kids every day.
Favorite book: I have several really good books. I love "The Power of Full Engagement" by Tony Schwartz as a work manual. Personally, I love "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coehlo. In fact, my new book "The Money Code" is modeled on his philosophy. I like the idea that anything is possible if you are willing not to constrain yourself or imprison your thinking. 99.99% of the world believes that things are a certain way because they have put themselves in that mindset, not because it is true. Anything is possible but we often put ourselves in needless prisons to feel safe which, in reality, are just self made prisons.
Favorite movie: "The Hangover." Once in a while you just have to laugh. I love laughing till I cry.
Outside of work: I either do yoga, stair run or swim a mile every day. We live by the ocean so I also love to paddle board. My wife and I have a huge appreciation for nature and love to get outdoors.
I'm obsessive about balance and speak to entrepreneurs around the world about maintaining balance in their lives. It is impossible to be on all the time. Balance is the key to remaining intensely engaged. When I sold my first company, in many ways it felt like a loss of identity; I realized that I had become a reflection of the company rather than the other way around. With United Capital I have taken more of a step back. This doesn't mean I'm not 100% dedicated to what I do, but my life is not this company.
Community: I do a lot of speeches and love to write books, the profits of which go towards charitable causes. For me, I believe the only way to improve life is to improve the way you make decisions, so I support causes that help people without means to make better decisions. I'm a citizen of the world from building playgrounds in Mongolia to building desks in a Kenyan orphanage.
Family: We live in Laguna Beach and my wife and I are blessed with 3 precious daughters.
Joe's latest book, "The Money Code: Improve Your Entire Financial Life Right Now," published by Greenleaf Book Group Press, came out in January 2013. You can preview it here: www.mymoneycode.com
Title: Co-Founder (with Nikhil Arora - "Nik")
Company: Back to the Roots
Birthplace: Colombia, South America
Education: Berkeley
What's the background? I was a Finance Major at Berkeley and had never even thought about mushrooms, or anything to do with food, before. In a lecture one day, the professor mentioned as almost a throw-away fact that mushrooms can be grown in recycled coffee grounds. I was fascinated by this concept and wanted to know more about it. When I asked the professor about it, he told me that another student had asked the same question and he suggested that we get together. That other student was, of course, Nik, who I didn't know at the time. Well, we started talking about it and decided to set up an experiment to see what would happen. We went to our local Peet's and asked them for their used coffee grounds. We set up a few crates of grounds and injected each one with a different level of mycelium. We then left them behind in the lab as we went off for spring break. When we returned, we saw a wonderful group of pearl mushrooms growing in one of the crates. We quickly put together some more crates and, when we had enough mushrooms at one time, we took them to Chez Panisse in Berkeley to see if they were really as good as we thought they were. The chefs cooked up the mushrooms right there and declared them "excellent." In fact, Chez Panisse was so impressed with the taste of the mushrooms, they placed a daily order. From there we went to Whole Foods, and their buyers were equally enthusiastic, so we were given the opportunity to sell in some of their stores. Suddenly we were in the food business!
Business goal for the next 12 months: We have just negotiated with Home Depot to make our Back to the Roots mushroom growing boxes available at 400 stores on the east coast.
In the first quarter of 2013, we plan to launch a new product - an Aquaponics system. This is an Ancient Mayan model of sustainable gardening whereby fish waste feeds plants, and oxygen from the plants is returned into the water. In our system, we will be growing baby greens. Nik and I want to promote the idea that food is personal - that is, that food, through the personal contact of growing it, nurturing it, and eating it, is something to respect. With this as our overarching idea, we would like to make Back to the Roots "the brand" for wholesome and sustainable food.
Advice you wish you had received Keep focused on what it is you want to achieve. While advice is great, I do think that the errors and detours we have made have enabled us to learn a great deal about ourselves and about the business, so I think that we have benefitted from any mistakes by turning them into positives and moving on.
Best business decision: Partnering with Nik - definitely!
Another great business decision that we made together is to build our company as a family. Family is very important to us both. Everyone in our company (about 30 employees) works together just as in a family and we are all accountable for our activities and decisions. It's a great atmosphere here - we share a passion for what we're doing and we have a lot of fun.
Toughest business decision: Letting go of people who we like and care about, but who are unable to assume the appropriate responsibilities when required and who we know cannot grow with the business. It's definitely the toughest part of the business.
Person most admired: On a day-to-day basis, the person I most admire is Nik.
Like most about job: I feel like a little kid in a big kid's shoes! Every day brings new challenges, but I like the way we all pull together to find the best way to deal with them.
Like least about job: Well, the same is true - I feel like a little kid in a big kid's shoes! And that sometimes means I have to do things that I don't really want to do. Certainly, as I've said, the hardest part of the job is to let people go if it doesn't work out.
Dream job: I have it! I get to work with people I admire and enjoy being with and I get to meet interesting people every day. With all that we have in place, I am able to make life and work happen in a way that is good for me, my family, and my community. I believe that you can do anything you want if you decide to do it - and I'm doing it!
Favorite book: It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life, by Lance Armstrong, and One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel García Márquez.
Favorite movie: Crash.
Outside of work: I like to work out and I love being outdoors. I used to play on the Berkeley tennis team and still play now.
I had a lot of fun this summer when I was in Stratford, England and had the chance to play Romeo in Romeo and Juliet.
Community: We set up the One-for-One campaign whereby, if someone posts a picture on our Facebook page of themselves with their mushrooms, we donate a box to a local school. Children are very excited watching food grow. We believe that if children understand how food grows then it becomes more personal and more important to them - they will respect it.
I also recently set up the Sage Mentorship Program and both Nik and I sit on the Board. It's a program whereby a Berkeley student partners with an underprivileged schoolchild to help them in their academic life. Our motto is "Real relations, real connections, real life."
Family: I come from a very close family. We both do. See, we have pictures of our mothers above our desks! My stepfather is our Distribution Manager. I value family highly. And, as a cancer survivor (I had cancer at 15 years old), I really value health too. Yes, I would say that I value family and health above all else.
Title: President / CEO (aka "Chief Bootlicker"). I am nothing without the people around me.
Company: Semifreddi's Bakery
Birthplace: I grew up in Buffalo, New York. We moved to Southern California in 1965, then to Northern California in 1973. Although I consider California home, I think I have an East Coast attitude.
Education: Berkeley for my undergrad where I got a B.S. in Finance. I also got my MBA from Berkeley in Finance / General Management.
What's the background? This basically emerged out of a mid-life crisis. I had done everything right in my life and was looking for another challenge. At the time I worked for Clorox in Finance and Accounting, but when I turned 30 I got offered a promotion and took a long hard look at my situation. One of my assignments was in the M&A department and I was fortunate at a young age to work with the Board of Directors. To be honest, I got a feeling that it was the Emperor's New Clothes and I didn't like who I needed to be or how I had to act to get to the top - it wasn't a good fit for me anymore. Clorox is a great company but I realized that if I was going to get to the top I would have to change my personality.
The last performance review I had before I quit was very good but the feedback was that I sometimes used my wit inappropriately. That didn't ring true with me as I love to use humor when I talk. Workplaces are often too uptight and I believe it's not the end of the world if something goes wrong. So with that review I knew I would have to change who I was, but I really didn't want to do that.
I quit without a job in January 1988. It was tough; I was earning $70,000 a year, which was a good salary, and I had no idea what to do with myself. It felt like I had just jumped off a cliff and didn't know where I would land. As luck would have it, my sister and brother-in-law had a tiny bakery in Kensington, California. They asked me to help them while I figured out what to do and so I went to work with them for $7 an hour as an employee. I had never baked in my life but when I walked into their 450 square-foot facility at 4 a.m., I felt calm. I felt this was where I should be.
Within a week, I asked them if I could be their third partner, as they wanted to take it bigger. On a handshake we agreed that I would invest $25,000 for 33% of the business. Now, through sweat equity, that has grown to 50%. My brother-in-law, Mike, is still actively involved; my sister, less so as she is kept very busy with her three children. Having two partners works well and we really gel.
Working with my family is good. We lived with each other at first as I couldn't afford to live on my own initially. I worked 90 hours a week for the first few years, up at 3 a.m., back at 8 p.m. every night. Our partnership benefits as we have the same values and the same ideals - we always agreed that we wanted our people to be the best paid and the best benefited in the artisan bread and pastry industry and I really believe that's true; we have hit that ideal and we want to stay there. We've never been driven by money but by quality, people development, community involvement and environmental stewardship. Therefore, we have always made money. Our sales have grown every year for the past 28 years. We've had no outside investors and we've never lost money. Someone asked me recently what my exit strategy is; I told him it's death (!).
Business goal for the next 12 months: In the food industry there is something called the "slow food movement." We believe that we are the "slow capitalism movement." It's a marathon, not a sprint. Our goal for the next 12 months is the same every year - we want to grow $500,000 a year. We don't believe in percentage growth targets because, as the base gets bigger, it's harder to achieve your sales goals, and this sometimes leads to taking on bad customers or expanding your product line too much. By growing at $500,000 year on average, we can give raises, maintain our benefits package and continue to give back to community. We have never laid anyone off. We want to keep doing what we're doing - producing the best quality bread and pastries in the world at the best price. We have 125 full time employees with full benefits; 90% of them started at entry level. I believe in providing a balanced life for my employees and for myself. For example, if you send an email when you're supposed to be on vacation then in my book that's grounds for termination. The biggest gift we can give to our employees is to not have them tethered to the company 24 hours a day. I'm proud of our achievements.
Advice you wish you had known: Anything that appears to be bad almost always turns out good. For example, for years I was worried that our lease was expiring and that we would have to move. But, actually, being forced to move was the best thing we ever did. I also didn't realize how long it would take to develop a strong culture for everyone in company; I thought it could happen overnight.
Best business decision: Joining Semifreddi's.
Toughest business decision: In 2000, Pixar bought our building and offered us money to move early. I turned it down. They came back again in 2006/7 and made a final offer of $2 million to move early but, again, I turned it down. I trusted my gut, as logic told me to take it; we are a small margin business and the money would have been welcome. I continued to doubt my decision. However, I had a feeling that the economy was going to crash and that the building we would have had to buy at that time would have been too expensive to develop. We bake and deliver fresh bread and pastries 359 days a year (we are closed 6 days for paid holidays) and the operation is 24/7, so we needed to find a much bigger space to accommodate us. Two years later, in 2009, when we got into the building where we are now, interest rates were lower, the cost of the building was lower and the contractor was lower. We actually did better financially than if we had accepted the $2 million offer. It was the toughest but also the best decision I've had to make. We designed our new building from scratch and did everything in an incredible seven months.
Person most admired: I have a few. My parents predominantly; they really set me a good example of being selfless. They taught me that you show up before you're supposed to work and are last to leave. You don't complain and you do a good job. They really helped me with my work ethic.
Muhammad Ali. He gave up the prime earning years of his life for his principles and he is an athlete who has stood the test of time.
Cesar Chavez. Through non-violent boycotting he made the lives of farm workers better against all the odds and also stayed humble.
Richard Branson. He's an off-beat entrepreneur, which I resonate with. He goes into industries where big companies have dominated the pricing and where service has not been that great. He shakes up industries and is successful doing it, but still keeps a sense of who he is as an individual.
Like most about job: My "Chief Bootlicker" title says it all! The people. I could never work from home. I like to teach and see people develop. Some of the managers we have working here started as janitors. For people who normally wouldn't have the chance to get to that level as they don't have a college degree, that excites me the most. I enjoy making people's lives better around me and the challenge of motivating people 24/7.
Like least about job: Hard to say. I'm a "Happy Chappy" but if I were to pick one thing, even though we treat people well, there are still times when one employee will rip you off. Sometimes human nature lets me down but that doesn't prevent me from being positive or being confident in people. People can learn anything if they're motivated. For example, there are some people who don't seem good at math but when it comes to their paychecks they become PhD's.
Dream job: I'd probably be a rock star (I have no talent but I have the moves!) or a teacher in an underprivileged inner city situation. I love what I do, though. For me early retirement is the booby prize of life. All my friends would still have to work and we wouldn't be able to relate to each other. I can't imagine playing golf and vacationing for the rest of my life. I want to have a positive impact on people's lives and to leave world a better place than when I found it.
Favorite book: "Animal Farm" by George Orwell. There is a famous line in the book: "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others." This book showed me that, no matter what the economic system, whether communism, socialism or capitalism, there will always be a "1%". This proves to me that you can get to the top if you work hard, which is how I've lived my life.
Favorite movie: "The Graduate." I first saw it when I was 14 and I really resonated with his life, and I always wanted to meet my Mrs. Robinson.
Outside of work: Lots of things - exercise, bike riding, basketball and hanging out with family and friends. I listen to live music at least once a month and read voraciously (non-fiction).
Community: We have donated fresh bread and pastries (not day old) to thousands of charities over the past 28 years, far too many to mention, and occasionally we take the crow bar to our wallets and write checks. Our community involvement is mainly around kids, the sick, the poor, the elderly and schools. McClymonds High School in West Oakland is a school we have "adopted." I believe that if we are successful then we have an obligation to give back to the community. We donate over $500,000 in fresh bread and pastries each year to the community.
Family: I have two daughters. One is currently in Spain as an au pair, and the other is in Thailand doing a World Challenge helping locals to paint schools.
Title: President and Chief Executive Officer
Company: Anchor Brewers and Distillers
Birthplace: Born in Bournemouth, England. Spent my teens in Singapore. Moved to America in 1985 and became a US citizen in 2001.
Education: A degree in Civil Engineering, an MBA in Marketing, and a Diploma in Market Research.
How did you get to where you are today: I started as a civil engineer, which I enjoyed, deriving much satisfaction from seeing the physical results. However, the profession is subject to economic fluctuations, and in downturns the compensation for the effort was poor.
I was always fascinated by brands and advertising. I quit my career in engineering. Starting from scratch on my own, I enrolled in an MBA program and completed the program. During the MBA program I started my own business, which gave me a taste of operating a business. Although that business was not successful, it was a good learning experience. I was lucky to find a position with International Distillers and Vintners, a London based company, and I moved to the States with them in 1985. I worked at the company until 1997 and progressed to the Vice Presidency level. During my time at this company, I worked closely with Tony Foglio, my key business partner today.
I moved to San Francisco in 1998 as Chief Operating Officer of Skyy Spirits, LLC and helped develop this embryonic company through the end of 2006 into a major spirits player. The company was sold in stages to Campari over that period.
I left Skyy Spirits, LLC in 2007 and started The Griffin Group, LLC.
In 2007, I started with a blank piece of paper, knew a lot about the industry, wasn't certain where I was headed, explored a lot of different avenues, and ended up going down the artisanal craft route. This turned out to be right direction for the Company, given its size.
It has been a great journey ever since.
Business goal for the next 12 months: My business goal for the next year is completing the infrastructure development for Anchor Brewing Company and Anchor Distilling Company. This will provide a full national footprint from a sales perspective. Another goal is to determine a second site for our second brewery. We are expanding quickly and will outgrow our current production capability by 2014. Currently, we have some great plans and future ideas in discussion. The potential for Anchor is amazing.
Best business decision: Quitting engineering and 16 years later quitting the corporate environment.
Moving Skyy Vodka from a product proposition to an image proposition.
Other great business decisions were pursuing the purchase of Anchor and creating Anchor Brewers and Distillers.
Also, selecting a team for Anchor's senior management was a huge business decision. I am very proud of the management team.
Toughest business decision: Toughest business decision is my commitment to making necessary leadership changes in a company. When you have a vision of where you want to go, the leadership changes have a dramatic impact on a Company.
Person most admired: I certainly admire Fritz Maytag for what he has achieved. Fritz did an incredible job at Anchor Brewing Company starting back in the '60s with a strong personal commitment and with his vision of the world wanting a better tasting beer. What he achieved is phenomenal and must have taken a lot of courage along the way. He has tremendous respect of those who worked with him as well as his peers in the industry. Finally, despite our hugely different approach to life and business, he could see the need for big change and trusted us to deliver Anchor into the next generation while maintaining the quality of the beer and integrity of the company. I've got to love Fritz for that!
Like most about job: Achievement - implementing new plans, strategies and changes. Getting the job done. That is where the satisfactions come from. I have great fulfillment, looking back over the course of a year, at the milestones we've accomplished. Building a bridge is similar to building businesses and brands. You have to get the design and foundation right from which to build upward in a sustainable manner maximizing the available resources. Once you achieve something, it is immensely satisfying to stand back and admire the end product of one's hard work and efforts.
The beverage alcohol business is a real people business. I meet a lot of different people from many different walks of life, which is great.
Like least about job: Attempting to obtain credit in this current environment and dealing with complex accounting regulations which do not have much meaning for the overall business operations.
Dream job: Got it!
What would you do if you weren't doing this: If I weren't doing this, I would be building brands elsewhere. I describe myself as a serial brand builder. Building brands is challenging and has long time frames, but it is also great fun. You are creating things that mean something to people while serving a need. When you get it right, huge value is created.
Favorite book: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond, and An Army at Dawn by Rick Atkinson
Favorite movie: The Star Wars Series
Outside of work: Outside of work, I enjoy my landscaping. I live on a steep hill so you have to be creative in combining utility and aesthetics. My current passion is the vegetable garden and keeping gophers out of it.
Community: My spouse and I contribute a lot of time helping the Novato schools raise funds. Also, I'm supporting the effort to re-open the long shuttered downtown Novato Theater.
Family: I have three daughters. The eldest daughter is a graduate of UC Berkeley and considering options to pursue a PhD degree. She is also a long distance runner hoping to make the Olympic trials in the 10K this June.
My second daughter is a senior at San Diego State University studying marketing. She interns with Lambesis, a renowned ad agency. She recently shared some of her work with me, not easy given my background. I was delighted. She gets it - not something everyone can.
My youngest daughter is 15 years of age and a freshman in high school where her favorite activity is sports and within that basketball. Though she does make a mean lacrosse goalie.
My spouse continues to contribute significant time to helping the local schools.
Title: Executive Chairman
Company: Anchor Brewers and Distillers
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York. Moved to California in 1998. Timing was right as the kids were grown and out of the house so it was just my wife and myself. It's been a good move.
Education: Southern Illinois University. I studied Sociology. Not sure it helped too much in my career but sociology is all about people and cultures so it's always helpful when working with people.
How did you get to where you are today: After college I went into the military, and then went to work for Scott Paper Company in Chicago as a salesman. It was good training but after a few years I was looking for something more. So I got a job as District Manager with Heublein in their beer division (Theodore Hamm Brewing Company). I progressed through various sales management positions in different locations, and stayed at Heublein for 15 years. At one point I transferred to Northern California with them, but at the time my wife and I felt the schools were not up to our standards, and we couldn't afford private schools, so I chose to find another job in an area with better schools. I was fortunate to be able to move to Connecticut and find a position with International Distillers and Vintners, a London based company with offices at the time in New York. I progressed through their ranks to President and CEO of the Paddington Corporation. This is where I met and worked with my future partner at Skyy and Anchor - Keith Greggor. At one point Keith and I tried, through Paddington, to purchase the Skyy Vodka brand. At the time was as close to a start-up company as you could get. We couldn't buy it but the owner offered me a job and equity to help build it, so I worked with Keith to develop a plan and we both moved to San Francisco in 1998 to help build Skyy Vodka, the brand and spirits company. Keith and I sold our interest in Skyy Vodka in the late 2000's, and were both looking for something to do, we got involved with Preiss Imports and purchased it. Preiss Imports is a San Diego based company of high-end artisanal spirits and two craft beers. When Keith and I got into it, we recognized that the craft beer business was on the cusp of exploding, and we needed to build a strong platform to hire top quality people. The idea behind Anchor Brewers and Distillers is to unite craft beers and artisanal spirits.
Business goal for the next 12 months: We want to make Anchor available to more people and expand the company. We bought it for three reasons: 1) it had a great history, and was truly authentic and a strong brand; 2) it offered the opportunity to build a prestigious and heritage-driven business, which could merge with our Preiss Imports business and marry craft beer and authentic heritage-driven high quality artisanal spirits; and 3) Anchor is a San Francisco icon we wanted to keep it in San Francisco.
Advice you wish you had known: The previous owner Fritz was unbelievably open and honest - he told us everything about the business. I wish I had known how difficult it can be to raise capital. (In the back of my mind I knew it was going to be difficult.) But in the end it was rewarding as it fell into place. I know now how important it is to rely on experience and people. It's been a lot of resilience, momentum and vision to get to where we are today. I think of it is like a puzzle - does this piece fit? Keith and I have different skill sets and they marry quite well - I couldn't have done it without him. We've maintained our faith in the vision and been fortunate to have a strong support system to help with it.
Best business decision: Leaving a large conglomerate and going to a small family business. I couldn't have made the move without the large company experience so it definitely helped to get me to next stage. But the challenge with a big company is that you become more and more specialized and further from the action. With a smaller company, you have the responsibility of doing everything and make decisions where you can see and feel the consequences immediately. The timeline is shorter.
Toughest business decision: Leaving the security of a big firm and all the perks, including my stock options! It was scary to do it but I have a supportive wife and it was the right decision for us.
Person most admired: Charlie Herbert, President of Spirit Division of Heublein. I admired his work ethic, honesty, and compassion for people but also his toughness in making very difficult decisions. He left me with a model that I've carried with me to this day - don't confuse kindness with weakness. He always had his eye on the prize and helped me to see that there are a lot of ways to get to where you need to go. It doesn't always have to be the way you personally would have done. Look down the road then look behind you and see how you've managed to accomplish the things you have.
Like most about job: The industry, people, sales, marketing, growing businesses, and engagement of it all. I remember once back at Paddington, we had international brands and often had to take trips overseas to visit the plants. Years ago a young man came up to me to say thank you - he would never have traveled overseas without the company. And it struck me that a company could affect someone's life so dramatically. We have to grow the business, we have to have the skills and enthusiasm to do it but if can add something positive to peoples' lives along the way that's a good thing.
Like least about job: Worrying about numbers and cash flow.
What would you do if you weren't doing this: I would have stayed in school, got an advanced degree and become a teacher.
Favorite book: There are two books - Atlas Shrugged' by Ayn Rand, which people either love or dislike and nothing in-between, and Killer Angels' by Michael Shaara, which is about the Civil War.
Favorite movie: It used to be The Godfather until Gladiator came along.
Outside of work: Mostly spending time with my wife and enjoying San Francisco.
Community: Not anymore. Used to in New York but not so much out in California.
Family: Son in Seattle and a daughter in Alexandria, Virginia. We have two grandkids.
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Company: The Conifer Group, LLC.
Birthplace: Chicago, IL. I moved to San Francisco in 2000. I've traveled a lot and spent a fair amount of time in New York but every time I fly in to San Francisco I think it's the greatest place on earth to live.
Education: Undergraduate at the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown, with a concentration on Humanities
Law at Georgetown University.
Business goal for the next 12 months: Our goal for next year is to successfully roll out our cloud-based technology product. This will grow the business in terms of revenue, profits and clients served. We're actually the first asset service firm to build and integrate an entirely cloud-based application; we're confident this will benefit our internal operations and be equally important to our clients and their investors. It will give them much more valuable reporting information in a dashboard format. We've been beta testing for months and it's been going great. We have a dozen or so clients as part of the program and we're now looking to leverage it into an expanded client base.
Advice you wish you had received: To be more candid and direct in my professional relationships. I've found that people ultimately respond well when spoken to honestly, with expectations clearly defined, etc.
Best business decision: To unbundle the various services that we offer to our clients. Previously, it was an all or nothing turnkey proposition but not all the services we offer are the same; they have a different appeal and different priority. By unbundling them, our clients have been able to invest by business segment and since different segments are attracted to different lines, it has broadened our appeal to a larger group of asset managers.
Toughest business decision: The most difficult decision I've made, but one which ultimately proved to be the right one, was to invest in our business in the middle of this economic downturn. We've been investing for the last 3 years but it was a difficult decision to embark on such a journey when the markets were, and continue to be, so uncertain. It really required a longer term vision and it's this vision that comforts me in believing we're doing the right thing. Conifer has been around for 24 years so we have to look through the cycles and invest for the long term. There's definitely a reality check that happens from time to time when I see other firms shrinking or closing and it needs a strong level of conviction to move forward. It's easy to make decisions when you have a lot of animated support and when it's obvious that it's the right thing to do, so decisions like this are a tougher call. I'm fortunate to have a very have supportive Board who continue to support me and believe in what we are doing.
Person most admired: Professionally it has to be Steve Jobs. He has overcome adversity both personally and professionally to be a true innovator. Apple is an amazing company which has taken customer experience to a new level - it's fun to be a consumer of theirs. Personally I would say my wife; she inspires me. She has patience, dedication and a compassion that I envy. She's also a great dancer!
Like most about job: The diversity of the day. I really enjoy the front office aspect. I love talking to different people and hearing their business plans, challenges and opportunities. And I love introducing people to Conifer! I get to tell our story every day.
Like least about job: Getting bogged down in meetings. There are too many that seem to overwhelm my day. I suppose it's a personal challenge in terms of prioritizing where to spend my time.
Dream job: Coaching sailing. I love being out on the ocean. Before we had kids, my wife and I sailed to New Zealand from the East Coast. We took a 40ft Valiant sailboat and went through the Panama Canal across the Pacific. It took us about a year.
Favorite book: This has varied over time but I'd probably say 'Crime & Punishment' by Dostoevsky. When you read it you really do become engulfed in the characters and the setting; he has an amazing ability to communicate his views on Russian society and you really get to know the struggles and challenges his various characters faced. Probably also some Hemingway. 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' is a favorite.
Favorite movie: 'The Graduate'. When I first saw it I was going through a similar time in my life transitioning from teenager to adulthood. I enjoyed seeing adult society through the eyes of someone younger who had an interesting perspective and humor towards life.
Outside of work: We have 4 kids under the age of 11 so I tend to be at a different athletic event every week. We enjoy sailing and skiing - we try to go to Tahoe most weekends - and I also like to get out on my road bike whenever possible.
Community: I'm becoming more involved with my kids' schools. I'm also on 2 arts Boards in San Francisco - 'SF Cameraworks', a 35yr old non-profit that supports Bay area emerging photographers, and the 'Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco' which includes the de Young & Legion of Honor.
Family: My wife, 2 girls - Pilar (11) and Maya (9) - and 2 boys - Jake (7) and Finn (4).
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Company: Box.net. Box provides cloud-based content management for 6 million users and 60,000 companies ranging from small businesses to the Fortune 500.
Birthplace: Born in LA but grew up in Seattle.
Education: Duke University.
Business goal for the next 12 months: To increase IT/CIO awareness and continue gaining traction in the Fortune 500.
Advice you wish you had received: When we started Box I was 19 and was afraid to hire senior people, but now I know that experienced leaders help you learn faster and grow faster. I also should have focused less on the bottom line early on and instead focused on growing market share.
Best business decision: Recognizing early what our best customers wanted and shifting our strategy to meet those needs. We shifted our focus from B-C to B-B, which changed the way we deliver our service and has proved extremely successful.
Toughest business decision: Knowing which opportunities to say no to. It's possible to do too many things and dilute the limited resources we have. It's hard to say no to clients who want to spend a lot of money for feature or interface specificity. But doing that dilutes Box's value to everyone else.
Person most admired: I admire many people but perhaps the most is Larry Page, Google's CEO. His role has evolved a lot but he continues to do what he loves and Google continues to stay true to its values and its original vision. That said, I'd probably admire him more if he had Vibrams like Sergey.
Like most about job: The chaos, the ability to make decisions quickly, and the ability to work closely with a great team.
Like least about job: Having to deal with the realities of scaling rapidly, such as implementing policies and having to move the company every 18 months.
Dream job: I'm doing it, and maybe someday I'll have a similar role with a non-profit that allows me to travel.
Favorite book: Growing up it was always Lord of the Rings but now I spend most of my time reading business books. Geoffrey Moore is probably my favorite author now.
Favorite movie: Star Wars!
Outside of work: My hours outside of work are pretty limited these days but I love to cook and I coach a Little League team.
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