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Tuesday, April 29, 2008
The passing of Ron Brown of Atlanta Life
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The sudden death of Ron Brown, the CEO of Atlanta Life Financial Group, came as an emotional blow to Bill Clement, a long time friend who is chairman of Atlanta Life.
“He was very, very special,” Clement said. “We’ve been down here with the employees this morning, and everybody spoke so fondly of him.” More here.
Brown, 54, passed away late Monday following complications from a surgery he had last Wednesday.
“It was just three weeks ago that he told me he wasn’t feeling well,” said Clement, who said he didn’t have any details on what kind of surgery Brown had or what the complications were.
Brown joined the board of Atlanta Life in 2002, and he became its CEO in 2004. He was CEO for the African-American institution for its 100th anniversary in 2005. And Clement said he had been doing a wonderful job running the insurance and financial services company.
“He had put together a strong management team.” Clement said. “This will be one of the best years that we’ve had in the last 20 to 25 years in terms of profit. He just did a superb job.”
Clement, president of Dobbs, Ram & Co., said he was going to serve as interim CEO of Atlanta Life while the company conducts a search. The Atlanta Life board will meet on Thursday. Atlanta Life will hold its annual meeting on May 21.
“We are all re-dedicating ourselves to making the company a living legacy for Ron Brown,” Clement said. “He had this term called: ‘a double bottom line.’ He believed Atlanta Life had to be fiscally responsible but also socially engaged to the community.”
Brown served in several civic roles including as a director of the Commerce Club, the Atlanta Committee for Progress, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, among others.
Before joining Atlanta Life, Brown had been running the software firm of Synavant, which he took public. Under his watch at Atlanta Life, the insurance company acquired Jackson Securities, the underwriting firm that had been founded by the late Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson.
Clement said he was having a hard time with the loss. “We’ve had an emotional morning,” Clement said while his voice cracked. “Ron Brown was a very, very special person.”
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Paula Rosput Reynolds executive role unknown
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Paula Rosput Reynolds, CEO of Seattle-based Safeco, does not know what the future holds. Or at least she didn’t share her plans with me.
Just last week, Safeco agreed to be acquired by Boston-based Liberty Mutual, a privately-held insurance company, for $6.2 billion. But there was no mention of who would hold the executive positions at the new merged company.
So I emailed Reynolds, and she chose to give me a poetic answer rather than disclose her future plans.
“I am always ready to head my sail into the gusty winds of fate,” she wrote.
Before becoming Safeco’s CEO, Reynolds was CEO of Atlanta-based AGL Resources.
One reason Reynolds moved to Seattle was so she could live in the same city as her husband, Steve Reynolds. who is CEO of Puget Sound Energy.
Interestingly enough, Puget Sound Energy also is in the process of being acquired by Australian and Canadian investors.
But Paula Reynolds told the Seattle Times that her husband plans to remain as CEO of Puget Sound Energy.
Meanwhile, Paula Reynolds continues to serve on the board of Delta Air Lines. It is not yet known which directors will serve on the board after Delta’s merger with Northwest Airlines.
But last summer she did resign from the board of Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Enterprises, which held its annual meeting last week. She said it was too much to travel to Atlanta to serve on both boards, especially because the meetings were never held the same week.
“And it was clear that Delta was going to be a great time sink for awhile,” said Reynolds, who was involved in two announced mergers within nine days. “It has been busy.”
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GE’s John Rice worries about the economy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlantan John Rice, who is vice chairman of infrastructure for GE, says: “These are turbulent times.” And if it were not for GE’s strong business outside the United States, the situation would be even bleaker.
Fortunately, demand for infrastructure is strong and is help offsetting the downturn in GE’s financial services.
Rice oversees a large share of GE’s business, roughly $60 billion in 2007. And 60 percent of his sales come from outside the United States. His division includes avionics, energy, wind power, jet engines, water, gas and rail.
“Absent some global dislocation, we see no reason that these businesses won’t continue to grow,” Rice told members of the Atlanta Rotary Club on Monday.
When asked about the future of the U.S. economy, Rice said: “I think the United States is in for a tough ride.” He added that he thought the economic downturn will continue for the next six to 12 months.
Meanwhile, Rice continues to stay involved in the Atlanta community. He currently chairs the Atlanta Education Foundation, a private non-profit that supports the Atlanta Board of Education.
Rice also complimented Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Beverly Hall, who is a Rotarian, for the reforms she’s been implementing. But Rice said the reforms will take time, estimating that it will take Atlanta five to 10 years to get to where it wants to be.
