Tycho Stahl is an Atlanta attorney who works with companies in Europe doing business in the U.S. or just establishing themselves here.
Stahl, 44, is a partner with Arnall Golden Gregory. A native of Germany, he moved to the United States with his parents when he was four and speaks fluent German.
"I’m definitely American to the core,” he said. "But part of my soul will always be German and European, so I understand Germans and Europeans and how they think, the issues they face. But I’m also American, so I understand our country and can help explain the U.S. to Europeans.”
Last year, he traveled to Europe eight times and logged more than 12,000 miles on roads in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Stahl's began to carve out his niche for representing European companies 17 years ago in a bar in Boston. The chief executive officer of a German company whose lawyer had recently died was with him in the bar. After chatting a few hours over a couple of beers with the CEO, Stahl, a graduate of Harvard University who earned his law degree from Georgetown University, got the client.
Q: Who are your clients?
A: Most of my clients are family-owned companies (with $50 million to $500 million in sales). I'm generally working with the business owners and CEOs.
Q: What is the best thing about your job?
A: What I love most about what I do, I think, is that I can be a bridge between my native country and culture and my American home, and in the process get to know both places better.
Q: What are the most challenging aspects ?
A: In general, what I do is really fun. I feel like I'm doing what I was born to do and that's a pretty good feeling. But it's also very hard work. I essentially live in two time zones at once because most of my clients -- a little over 60 last year -- are in Europe. But I live in Atlanta so my workday generally begins between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m., because by 11 a.m. our time -- 5 p.m. in Europe -- most of my clients will have gone home. So if I want to speak with them, I need to get up really early. But then I still have a full American workday ahead of me once the Europeans go home. I also travel a lot and in the past seven years, I've generally been going to Europe about eight times a year. Going overseas for a week or two every six weeks is pretty tough on your body and you have to be disciplined to get through it. I spent almost three months traveling last year. That's a lot of time away from my family.
Q: Is there anything baffling about doing business in this country that you help others figure out?
A: A couple of things baffle most Europeans. For one, we Americans are just so friendly and easy to get along with. Folks who come here even for a short business trip are invited to the homes of their business partners. The steaks are great, the beer is cold and you're immediately on a first name basis. Europeans are much more conservative generally, and that sort of thing wouldn't happen in Europe until folks have gotten to know each other a lot better. Europeans without a lot of experience with the U.S. mistake our easy social customs with actual close relationships and this can hurt them as they negotiate business transactions. I often find myself cautioning Europeans that they really do not know the U.S. and their business partners as well as they think they do.
Q: How has the economy affected your job?
A: The most obvious issue is that bank credit is really tight, so any transaction that requires bank debt or financing always has a huge question mark attached to it until it actually closes. Banks tend to be in the driver's seat, to the extent they're lending at all. Most of my clients, though, are family-owned companies that generally avoid bank debt. These folks actually accumulate cash until they have the funds to make an investment and so they're now generally pretty well positioned to jump on economic opportunities. To the extent financing is required, we're seeing a lot more government involvement. Many investments just don't get done anymore without loan guarantees by communities and their economic development authorities.
Q: What sort of businesses are foreign investors interested in?
A: As the U.S. auto industry in Detroit flounders, foreign manufacturers are stepping in to fill the gaps. We have huge investments in the Southeast by Mercedes, BMW, now Volkswagen and also Hyundai, KIA. All are pulling a network of suppliers with them, which creates still more jobs. Additionally, we're seeing a lot of investment in renewable energy, reflecting the growing emphasis on renewables by the government and society. The major European manufacturers of wind turbines and solar arrays are coming to the U.S., so again their suppliers are coming as well.
Meet Tycho Stahl
Job: Partner with law firm Arnall Golden Gregory
Age: 44
Home: Buckhead
Family: Wife, Yonni Kim, an attorney; two children, ages 3 and 7.
Hobbies: Bicycling, sleeping, reading, and hanging out with friends.
Favorite Web site: CNN.com
Last movie viewed: "Avatar."
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