Alumni Award Recipients
John Brown
Erna S. Fergusson Award, 2011
John Brown’s family always knew he’d be either Pope or head of a major company.
As a boy, John had thought he might attend seminary and become a priest. But then he started to notice the girls. So much for the first prediction.
As a teenager, John worked at a popsicle factory in Albuquerque. He saved up his money and bought a junker car for about $15. He worked on it a little, then sold it for $30, doubling his investment. It would be the first of many transactions.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at UNM in 1972 and an MBA with distinction at the University of Michigan in 1974.
He moved to Manhattan and joined the Private Placement Department of Equitable Life Assurance Society, where he became assistant vice president.
The family’s second prediction was beginning to materialize.
In 1981 he became vice president for private placements at Philadelphia Capital Advisors, part of Philadelphia National Bank. Two years later, feeling the need to move on, he and 9 other partners founded Philadelphia First Group.
There, John arranged the first of what has grown over the course of his career to more than 150 merger, acquisition, financing and private equity transactions. That’s a jaw-dropping number to those in the know.
In 1993, John became managing director and partner at Coopers and Lybrand. His success in forming an investment banking group there led to the establishment of Coopers and Lybrand Securities. CLS became the first registered broker-dealer of any of the Big Six (now the Big Four) accounting firms in the world.
John arranged the 1998 merger and integration of the investment banking groups from Coopers and Lybrand and Price Waterhouse. This was a huge undertaking and accomplishment.
The two companies combined to become Price Waterhouse Coopers, or PwC. John was responsible for the daily operations and management of its investment banking group. He coordinated US operations with those in Europe and Canada.
I’m worn out just contemplating all this. Even John – who, his sister says, has a type A plus plus plus personality – sought stillness and sanity in this non-stop environment, taking a leave of absence that would extend to three years.
John, Julie and their two teenage sons, Daniel and William, set forth in their 53-foot cruising sailboat on an adventure that would cover more than 10,000 nautical miles. They set sail at Anapolis, then followed the inter-coastal waterway to South Carolina, Florida, and the Bahamas to Trinidad.
It’s a high energy family, Amy says. “Sailing keeps them sane. You have to calm down. There’s no clock. You get up when the sun comes up. You sail, you sleep, you dive, you read.”
The Browns bought a house in Florida to sit out the hurricanes, but began to think about the desert. In 2003 they headed to Albuquerque.
They kind of liked their new, more relaxed life here. John’s global sphere of reference went local. He took up with his old Sigma Chi buddies and began serving on the board of UNM Anderson School of Management Foundation.
But you can’t keep a good venture capitalist down.
John became the first director of Invest New Mexico, part of the state’s Economic Development Department, for a year. Then he became a partner in Sandia Capital, and, in 2008, CFO of Bye Energy. The boards of Altela, Bye Aerospace, Bye Energy, and Dion’s enlisted him. Of late, he has become an adjunct professor at Anderson.
Not surprising, says Amy. John is “engaging, interested in other people, informal, approachable. He’s completely honest and ethical. He’s very thorough, generous with his time and talent, funny, interesting, and has no airs at all. You’d never guess how accomplished he is.”
But we have. Tonight, we want to recognize John for his achievements. We’re awestruck by their scope. We’re also appreciative of the business and personal talents they require.
Thank you, John, for sharing your talents with your alma mater and your local community. We’re proud to give you our Erna Fergusson Award tonight.
