Feature Member of the Month

Job Description: I have been the Assistant Treasurer at Brunswick Corporation for six years, although I have been in a treasury or treasury-related role for 29 years now. At Brunswick, I am currently responsible for bank, financial institution and rating agency relationships; cash, debt and liquidity management; pension and 401(K) investments; and acquisition & divestiture activity (from the financial perspective). In all of these realms, my efforts at Brunswick have focused around process re-engineering and infrastructure development (e.g. policies, procedures, controls, staff development, bank system and service provider structure reviews, etc.); in order to create efficiencies, cost savings and provide the platform required to support Brunswick's rapid growth. The latter has been a common theme in all of my roles, be they spin-offs, start-ups, or companies in need of a significant treasury re-vamp: to be the person who can strategically assess, develop, lead and implement the requisite infrastructure modifications required to take the entity to the next level. My former employers include Glenview State Bank, Bell & Howell Company, CNA Financial Corp., Covia Partnership, Apollo Travel Services (the latter two being spin-offs from United Airlines), MFN Financial Corporation (f/k/a Mercury Finance Company - which was a Chapter 11 workout / turnaround situation), Aon Corporation and BC. That used to seem like a long list, but in today's world - and with the benefit of hindsight being 20/20 - all of the job changes that I made were of great benefit to my background development and career advancement; and the diversity is actually now viewed very favorably, as opposed to when I first started in the business world.
 
Getting to Know You: I am married to Linda, and we have two children; Emily (17) and Vickie (16). I am very proud of both of them, in that Emily - who is into fashion - just won third place for design creativity at a fashion show at Harper Junior College, and Vickie - with her rock group the Bulging Waffles - recently won the Buffalo Grove High School Battle of the Bands contest. (Needless to say, neither one is interested in a career in treasury or finance.) We have a two-year-old black Lab named Pepper, who works hard to keep us all young. Our latest challenge is beginning the college search process (not to mention trying to be prepared to pay for it!)
 
Neighborhood News: We have lived in Arlington Heights since we got married, and I am from the area - having grown up in Northbrook. I love our neighborhood; there are several kids the same age as ours, and they all grew up together from little on and remain good friends. I have a par three golf course a block away, the benefit of a wonderful park district and school system, and a tight-knit neighborhood that gets together often for events and parties; including the now 17 year running annual holiday party (for 40+ adults) at the Berkow household.
 
Down Time: I like to watch and attend sporting events (I have Bears season tickets); go to concerts (we see several live shows each year); go to plays (the Metropolis Theater in downtown Arlington Heights is a wonderful place); go out to nice dinners and take exciting vacations; tend to my flower garden and try to keep my yard in tip top shape; continue to build my sports, car-related and music-related collections; and most of all, spend quality time with my wife, kids, family and friends.
 
Fun Facts: Only the "more seasoned" TMAC members would know this (and it is hard to believe that I now fall into that category), but I took my soon-to-be wife along to a NCCMA (pre-AFP) national convention in Dallas and proposed to her before going to one of the bank parties.
 
Back to Business: At this stage of my career, I feel that I have a lot of knowledge and experience that I would love to share with the younger members of TMAC who may need some assistance or advice - so feel free to ask me if you need anything. I have served in various roles for TMAC over the years. I have gained numerous life-long friendships from this group, and am still learning (I don't think that we ever stop learning) from each meeting and presentation that I am able to attend.
 
Joining TMAC: I joined in 1985, and at that time, it was a vastly different organization. I had heard about the group from my boss at Bell and Howell: Pat Graver. At that time, it was much smaller; not well-funded (Windy City - the main source of our funding - was but a twinkle in Marty Bierwalters' eye and meetings at the Studio were a mainstay); there had only been one or two national NCCMA conferences; and I was one of the young guys curious to learn what a lockbox study was. Just look how far we've come!

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