Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Paine Webber CEO Gives Address

Paine Webber President Gives Address

By Frosina Panovska Hoya Staff Writer

If you’re looking to succeed in business, then look no further – the United States is the place to be, according to Joseph Grano, Jr., President of PaineWebber Inc. Grano spoke in front of a crowd of about 30 students Tuesday night in the cDonough School of Business Dean’s Office about global economic trends and their impact on the financial industry.

In his speech, Grano gave statistics about the world as if it were a 100-person village: 51 would be female, 49 male, 70 would be non-white, 30 white, half would be malnourished and only one would have a college degree. Half of the wealth would be in the hands of six people, all of whom would be U.S. citizens.

“We have something that no one else has,” he said. “We have an amazing profile in demography. We have the most predictability. Seventy percent of our economy is service economy, and that’s very predictable. We are going to have a low inflation rate, primarily because the deficit is gone and there are low interest rates.” The only variables, he said, are war and commodity crises.

Grano also called himself a “phenomenal U.S. equities believer,” and said that there are unprecedented cash flows in the world economy right now.

In an interview before his speech, Grano addressed international economic issues such as the merging of non-traditional competitors. There’s a strategic desire to globalize, and “personally, I’m against that,” he said. He said he would rather ally than merge.

Asked about the Asian market collapsing, Grano said that the problem is not as important as the press has made it out to be. “It is insignificant,” he said, “because the Dow would only go down 300 points if the Hong Kong market collapsed to zero. And the whole Hong Kong market is smaller than two times that of General Electric.”

“Within three years, I will assure you the three hundred largest companies in Europe will become listed under the New York Stock Exchange,” he said.

During his speech, Grano also discussed the agnificent Seven, his keys to success in running a business. These included an optimistic view, a focus on opportunity, a calm and stable way of dealing with crises, asking good questions and getting rid of people who are not “team players” or do not want to be part of an organization.

“There is no obstacle in the U.S. that one can’t overcome,” Grano said. He advised the students to set goals for themselves. Having grown up in a middle-class family of Italian heritage, he said of his success, “I am the best example of what is attainable in this country.”

Before entering the private sector, Grano, 50, served in the U.S. Special Forces as a Green Beret where he became one of the Army’s youngest officers, achieving the rank of captain. Afterward, he joined Merrill Lynch as an investment executive in their New Haven office in 1972, working for 16 years, later becoming that firm’s youngest vice president. In 1987, Grano was named the industry’s best retail marketing executive in a survey conducted by Investment Dealer’s Digest.

Grano joined PaineWebber in February 1988, as president of retail, sales and marketing, and was named to his current position in December 1994. PaineWebber, founded in 1879, provides financial services to more than 2 million clients, including individuals, institutions, state and local governments and local agencies.

Grano said U.S. students have phenomenal opportunities and ended by saying, “Your work has just begun.”

More to Discover