Stephen Hassenfelt: Understated leader

loxezop.wordpress.com
“I thought, ‘Ugh,’” Hassenfelt says. “So much for stayin g out of the spotlight.” It’s not always possible to stay behindthe though, especially for somebody who’s been involved in some of Greensboro’se biggest corporate and civic ventures during the past three The shyness he professes notwithstanding, Hassenfelt is well knowhn whether he likes it or not. Now concludin g his term as chairmanof UNCG’ board of trustees, Hassenfelt founde two successful financial management firme in the city and helped engineer the mergeer of its two major hospital systems in the 1990s.
“II was a little surprised he was willing to do an intervieqwith you,” for this profile, says Sue Cole, his long-timew business partner and principapl of Granville Capital, which Hassenfeltg founded in 2003. “He askedc me whether he shoulddo it, and I told him I though t he should, because peoplr need to hear abouyt his kind of leadership.” His is the kind of leadershiop that is understated but effective, say those who have worked with Hassenfel through the years. He tends to claim no public credit perhaps because his successfulp ventures often speakfor themselves. Chiecf among them, at least in termes of pure dollars, is N.C. Trust Co.
, the wealthg management firm he co-founded in 1984 and led through growth to 85 employeee in downtown Greensboroand $2.5 billion in assets at the time of its sale to in 1999. Wealth management was a career shift for who had earlier worked as an accountanr and earned a law degree from Wake Forestin 1976. He founderd his own boutique law firm with partnerf Paul Livingston in Greensboroin 1981. That practice focused on tax law, the area he founsd most interesting, but clients wanted a broader scoprof service. Rather than simply branch out the law Hassenfelt split off on his own tocreate N.C.
A trust made the most sense as abusiness structure, he because as a fiduciary obligated to act in his best interests, he would be able to manage a bigget portion of their financial livess and, hopefully, keep them out of trouble. “Whe n I practiced law, people generally came to me when they had a Hassenfelt says. “In a trust, I coulcd work with them on ways to avoid The more comprehensive approacy appealedto Hassenfelt’s strategic nature, and that naturse helps explain the success and growth of N.C. Trust, says who joined that company in 1987 and eventualluybecame U.S.
Trust’s regional chief “He studied so hard, and he’d talk to people all across the countrh and go to conferences and do whatever it to find edges forhis firm, Cole says. For N.C. Trust was one of the firsf financial management firms in the regionh to make sure every employees was usingthose new-fangled desktopo computers and e-mail. By the late 1990s, N.C. Trust had outgrownn any claim to being a boutique firm, but it was still too small to take on its nationall competitors. One of those competitors, , tried to take over N.C. Trust in 1998, Hassenfelt says, but even after that deal died, he knew some kind of mergee was inevitable. The deal with U.S.
Trust to created the U.S. Trust Company of North Carolina with Hassenfelg as CEO preservedhis company’s locao status and even added some jobs as the resources of the largert firm created new services for But he was disappointed, he admits, when just months later U.S. Trust turned around and mergedwith . Hassenfelrt was tapped to help the top executivess at Schwaband U.S. Trusf meld their organizations together. He workedx hard at it but could see it wouldc be atroubled union, a view many industry observers woulx come to share. “There were great peopl e on both sides, but they were totally different” in thei r styles and experience, Hassenfelt says. Where U.S.
Trusgt was used to holding the hands of verywealthyh people, Schwab was known as an onlinr discount broker that catered to do-it-yourself investors. If he’d known the Schwab merger was coming, Hassenfelt he wouldn’t have done the U.S. Trust But that doesn’t mean he thinksd difficult deals aren’t worth doing, as is evidenced by the mergerr of and that Hassenfelt helped make happenn in 1997 after more than a year of planning and Hassenfelt chairedWesley Long’s board at the time, which meanyt he knew as well as anyone the difficulties that lay aheadd of that organization with its smaller patient capacity and fewer specializedf services in a head-to-head competition with the larger Moses

Now is a time for leaders to gain new consciousness - bizjournals:

framptongeqeaqu1461.blogspot.com
While we look to our leaders for stability and confidenc that things willbe OK, even they are now challenged. It'w a pressure cooker, and the real questioh is how to remain groundec in the face ofthis So, where can a leader go? It starts on the and ends up in new conscious choice based on solid grounding. It’s a processd that starts with a leader’s • Reflection: Getting grounded starts with having a regulare time each dayto reflect, to gain perspectivwe on the crises of the day and to gain insightt into what truly It may be a time of vigorous exercise, or a long walk.
The intentiohn here is to find a placse of peace and serenity and to clarifty what can be changed andwhat cannot. • Learning: What have you learnes about thefires you’re fighting? How important are they? It is critical to learn from the past and not continuw to repeat the same We will also learn about ourselves and why we keep fightinyg those fires. • Now it’s time to assess the key challengez weface and, based upon our new grounds and what truly to look at new and different options for solving thesew challenges.
• Conscious Choice: Conscious choices can now be made that are not reactive, that are tied to what’s best for the peoplwe and the business, and that will created a different environment for the work forcd and customers. New insights lead to new understanding, which in turn leade to new thinking – becoming proactive and formulating new strategiesand direction. It’sd an inside-out process. It starts deep insidr us, at the core of who we are, that whicn gives us a sense of peace aboug whatis important. And from that place come s sound judgment and a positivde message aboutthe future.
Conscious business choices are built on consciouw personal choices that are built on who we are This new ground enables us to move beyonsd thepressure cooker, reaction, and contingency

Dual Inhibition of MET and VEGF Signaling With Cabozantinib Blocks Tumor ... - MarketWatch (press release)

onesawava.wordpress.com

Dual Inhibition of MET and VEGF Signaling With Cabozantinib Blocks Tumor ... MarketWatch (press release) SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb 24, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) today announced the company's lead compound, cabozantinib, is highlighted in a new peer-reviewed publication demonstrating that simultaneous inhibition of MET and ... and more »

Local accountant sentenced for tax fraud - San Antonio Business Journal:

http://keroncongemas.com/worldnews/the-parade-is-the-pride-of-serbia/
United States District Judge Orlandol Garcia ordered Melvin Anthony Johnson to paya $5,000 fine and be placedf under supervised release for a perior of one year after completing his priso n term. At a sentencing hearing held July 2, Judge Garcia ordered that Johnson be takebn into custody to begin serving hisprisob term. Johnson pleaded guilty to the charge onMarcn 18. He admitted that during the tax years 2001 througb 2004 he knowingly assisted in the preparation of frauduleny individual income tax returns which containee falseeducation credits.
Johnson told clients he could get them larger refundsx byfinding “loop holes,” when in fact he was usingf bogus education credits to inflate his clients’ An IRS audit determined that the scheme resulte in a tax loss in exces of $200,000.

Yacht gift for charity's sailing work - British Forces News

utyziluz.wordpress.com

Yacht gift for charity's sailing work British Forces News The charity Toe In The Water, which uses sailing to help injured servicemen and women regain their confidence, has been given a Farr 52 racing yacht. Its owners - Tony Hayward, Sam Laidlaw, and Rob Gray - donated "Bob" to support the tri-service ... and more »

FPL Group to release Q1 results Tuesday - South Florida Business Journal:

ysynut.wordpress.com
Despite the recession, the Juno Beach-baseed power company (NYSE: FPL) said in Januaryg that 2008 wasits “besgt year ever,” with fourth quarter profits up 82 percent. At that time, the companyh forecast full-year adjusted earnings per share to be in the rangeof $4.0 5 to $4.25 for 2009 and $4.50 to $4.90 for 2010. Earlie r this month, TheStreet.com ranked FPL Group’s stock one of the top 5 all-arounxd value stocks. It has rated it a “buy” since Januaryy “due to the company's impressive growthh and strong fundamentals.” TheStreet.
com said the company’s strength can be seen in its revenu and netincome growth, but addeed that it has poor debt management and subpar liquidity. The most recent change in stock analysg recommendations for the company wasa Dec. 29 downgrade by UBS analysgt Ronald Barone, to “neutral” from “buy” on In the fourth quarter of last net income increasedby 81.7 percent to $408 million, or $1.02 a share, from $224 million, or 56 cents a share, in 2007. Earningw for that quarter were $361 or 90 cents a share, up from $284 or 72 cents a for the same quarterin 2007.
FPL Group attributedc its success to record earnings at its NextEraqEnergy Resources, formerly FPL Energy, the largest generator of wind and solar power in Norty America. It reported fourtnh quarter net incomeof $265 or 66 cents a up from $72 million, or 18 centz a share, in the prior-year quarter. Last FPL Group said it had signed a deal with to supply it with solar photovoltaic panels and proprietarytracking systems. San Calif.-based SunPower also committed to locating a researcn and development center in Florida if the state continuezs to expandsolar programs.
Over the past three FPL’s stock swung from a high of about $52 in earlhy February down to justbelow $42 in mid-Marcuh and back up to about $52 in earl April. Shares were up $1.15 to $51.57 in midday trading. The 52-weeik high was $68.98 on May 2, 2008. The 52-weeok low was $33.81 on Oct. 10.

An unsatisfying settlement - The Register-Guard

coras-newport.blogspot.com

OregonLive.com

An unsatisfying settlement The Register-Guard A settlement awarding $1.5 million to the estate of Jeanette Marie Maples serves as a grating reminder that there is no adequate measure of justice for the murdered Eugene teenager. Not in this world, anyway. The same can be said of the death sentence ... Oregon settles Jeanett e Maples wrongful death lawsuit for $1.5 million KMTR NewsSource 16 Oregon To Pay $1.5M In Torture Death Lawsuit Insurance Journal State agrees to pay $1.5 million in Jeanette Maples' wrongful death suit OregonLive.com KPTV.com  »