1960

The New York Times article was headlined "Arthur Young Official To Work for Simon." It explained that A 1 Roberts, vice chairman of Arthur Young & Company, was leaving to join William E. Simon as the chief financial officer of a newly created merchant banking concern which will concentrate its activities in the southwestern Pacific basin.

This announcement struck me as an incredible opportunity for A 1 and whetted my curiosity. So I called Bill Simon's office in nearby Morristown, N.J., to see if A 1 would have lunch. The secretary said, "Mr. Roberts is not with the company." Now my interest was really strong. My next call was to his old phone number at Arthur Young. It proved to be his current number, as well.

Al's initial response to my query about his non-change of career was that he had come to the conclusion that he had made a wrong decision. After the public announcement, he had attended several meetings with Simon and other associates and had come away uncomfortable with the situation. As we talked more, it became apparent to me that Al's turnabout decision was based on his personal value structure. With more input about the scope and responsibilities of the new position, he realized that he would have to sacrifice qualities of life which were extremely important to him. But, he acknowledged, he had not thought seriously about what was really important until he found himself on the launching pad. When looking up at the stars, it's difficult to see the anchors that keep your life in place. Personal relationships and family suddenly took on a refocused importance.

While he had resigned from Arthur Young with no ill feelings, he also realized that his bridge back might have been burned. Fortunately, it wasn't. AI says he looks forward to going to work every morning and to going home every night. He is still a vice chairman of Arthur Young & Company and a man who learned a lot about himself in the past few months.

On the other hand, some classmates thrive on change. A year ago I reported that Bruce Hazenkamp had taken a new position with the Asia Foundation after running his own public relations firm for several years. The PR release on my desk announced that Bruce had been named vice president, government and public affairs, of the Hospital Council of Northern California, an association of 130 members. Again, I was curious as to what had prompted his job change in such a short period.

My phone call found Bruce in his office at HCNC. His response to my question was sincere and caught me by surprise. Quite simply, he admitted to having made a very big mistake, one in which he had totally misjudged the job's responsibilities and authority. He also found out, after the fact, that he was the 14th person to attempt that job in 18 years. Faced with these jolting realities, he bailed out fast.

Unlike AI, his bridges were burned back to his former firm, where he had sold his interest. Consequently, he searched for something that was both interesting and challenging in the San Francisco area. An ad in the Wall Street Journal led him to his current position. Like Al, his decision was based strongly on his personal values, business, civic, and, family relationships. He likes his new challenge of representing an association of hospitals, especially in this time of change for the health care industry. He feels he's leading an interesting, challenging, and fulfilling life.

Jonathan Brown, Carroll and Milton Petrie Professor of Fine Arts at New York University, dropped a note to say he had met the king of Spain. The occasion was an award ceremony held at the Museo del Prado, Madrid, where Jonathan was presented with the prestigious Medulla de Orode Bellas Artes. This annual award is made by the Spanish ministry of culture to individuals who have made exceptional con- tributions to the cultural life of Spain. He received it for his contributions to the history of Spanish art. Ole!

If anyone knows the whereabouts of the following classmates, please drop me a note so I can feed the "great computer" in Hanover: Richard Baldwin, GeoffreyBerne, Richard Bossie, Michael Carroll,Frederick Celce, Peter Chillag, PhilipClark, Arthur Coburn, John Gowell,Thomas Green, George Hand, NikolausLangloh, Wade Layne, David Lodge,David Mosteller, David Newhart, AntonReiche, Jon Richardson, Donald Rosenkrantz, David Segal, Robert Smith, William Wade, David Wiggins, and JohnZipser.

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