The View from the Office.

I met up with Michael Billings who was hosting a dinner for eight of his finance industry friends in Tribeca. 

Michael was in town from Salt Lake City for the Sohn Conference. He convened the group at Casa Carmen on Franklin Street. 

Michael is a natural connector who delights in bringing together people who don’t know each other. 

He’s also a man on the move. We first met a week ago in Ohama at the Berkshire annual meeting. From there he attended the Milken conference in LA and now Sohn.

Michael stands out in any room because of the Hawaiian shirts he has adopted as his trademark. 

He grew up in Utah before studying economics at Wharton. He got a masters at the University of Utah.

One of his first jobs out of college was as a production assistant on season one of The Apprentice. Among other things he had to sell lemonade on a sidewalk in midtown Manhattan. 

He went on to the Clinton Foundation and then shifted to finance working at First Pacific Advisors and then as an investment manager helping handle Vanderbilt’s endowment.

Most of the people he assembled last night hadn’t met before. The group included his college roommate, a former Navy seal, a former Getty endowment manager and a private equity executive. Michael was the glue.

He has a rare ability to convene a group of people and provide ballast to the conversation without needing to be the center of attention.

Michael encouraged everyone to tell their best stories about the characters in the financial pantheon we’d met from Michael Milken to Michael Bloomberg.

I told Michael he should convene his own event, inviting friends to Park City. The Billings Conference would be like Sun Valley meets Coachella. 

He didn’t rule out the idea but said it would have fewer speakers than a normal conference and more skiing. “Whatever happens in Utah has to involve skiing.” 

I think there is definitely a need for such an event. 

You can connect with Michael via LinkedIn or DM me for a warm intro.