Duke people in the news: All American Jon Scheyer, Trustee Gerald Hassell

Duke People in the News. A periodic feature, when stuff warrants it.

✔ NEW DUKE TRUSTEE HASSELL GETS TOP WALL STREET JOB
A new Trustee at Duke, Gerald Hassell '73 is making big news in the world's financial newspapers this morning, having won a joust in the board room of his New York bank. The former chair is out, and Hassell is now boss of one of the world's largest financial institutions.

The institution: Bank of New York Mellon. It has an amazing $26.3 trillion (with a T) in its custody and administration, and another $1.3 trillion (with a T) under management. And you thought the federal debt was big: as of August 3, 2011, the gross debt of the federal government was "only" $14.34 trillion

Hassell thus joins a long line of Dukies at the helm on Wall Street, a rather impressive roster: Bob Steel, former Duke Trustee chair, of Goldman Sachs and the US Treasury. John Mack of Morgan Stanley fame. Alan Schwartz who was boss when Bear Stearns collapsed. Steven D. Black, head of global investment banking at JP Morgan Chase. If you want some more names, this Duke Magazine article from 2009 is rather interesting:

http://www.dukemagazine.duke.edu/issues/091009/crisis1.html

Back to Hassell. BNY Mellon, as it is known, issued a press release that was unusually blunt, saying Robert Kelly, 57, had "differences in approaches to managing the company.” As Dukies know from recent changes at the university, shake-ups usually result in the loser's being given a convoluted explanation about new directions and challenges. This one is effective immediately. Ka-boom.

The following is from FC last June when Hassell was about to join Duke's Trustees:

Hassell is 59. He started at the Bank of New York (forerunner of the current entity) as a 21 year old management trainee. He rose and rose, to the top job of President of the Bank of NY at age 46. A merger in 2007 resulted in his current position. 2010 salary: $11,179,102. In addition to stock he already owns, he has options -- accumulated since joining Bank of NY -- which according to the FC calculation are worth just north of $300 million.

At the bank, he developed a specialty in financing media, and is on the board of Comcast Corporation, which, in case he is having a hard time making ends meet at his day job, paid a nifty extra $237,905 last year.

An example of how capitalism is supposed to work, he chaired the board of visitors at The Fuqua School of Business at Duke from 2005-11.

Hassell has a long list of other activities: Board of Visitors at the Columbia University Medical Center, and the boards of the New York Philharmonic, the Economic Club of New York, and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. He is vice chair of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York. And is a direct of Comcast Corporation.

Hassell lives in Chappaqua, New York, in a home totally surrounded by old growth trees so we could not get a peak on the Google satellite. This is in the arc of wealthy suburbs north of New York City, in Westchester County and nearby Connecticut, that has given Duke numerous trustees. For example John Mack and Roy Bostock of Library fame, merely to start the list.

We believe Hassel's daughter is Alyssa '08.

End of earlier FC post.


JON SCHEYER

This is a news release. Whenever we use a handout from PR -- we identify it carefully. Unlike some other news outlets, we do not say it is from "Staff."

The release is from Nefesh B'Nefesh, an organization that encourages immigration by Jewish people to Israel from North America and the United Kingdom.

The following story refers to aliyah. Wikipedia: Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael). It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida ("descent").[1

Duke University All-American basketball player Jon Scheyer made aliyah Tuesday on a group flight organized by Nefesh B’Nefesh in cooperation with the Jewish Agency and the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption.

Immediately after stepping off the airplane at Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Scheyer was accompanied by Nefesh B’Nefesh staff to the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption office in the airport where he received his Teudat Oleh (immigrant certificate) and officially became a new immigrant.

According to Danny Oberman, executive vice president of Nefesh B’Nefesh, Scheyer will receive his Israeli ID card at the Nefesh B’Nefesh office in Jerusalem on Thursday. After he obtains his ID card, Scheyer will officially become an Israeli citizen.

Brad Ames, a prominent NBA basketball agent, assisted Maccabi Tel Aviv in recruiting the 24-year-old originally from Northbrook, Illinois to play as its shooting guard in the Israeli Super League.

“I am really looking forward to starting my new life in Israel and playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv,” said Scheyer. “Nefesh B’Nefesh has been extremely helpful throughout the whole process and has allowed me to hit the ground running so I can fully concentrate on playing the best basketball I can.”

FC footnote: under rules of the international league that Scheyer will play in, any team can have only four players who are not from its own country. Thus, Scheyer will not consume one of these slots.

That's it. No other interesting Dukies today.