This week on the Be Epic podcast, host Brent Williams welcomes guest Mario Ramirez, President of M Ramirez Group and Chief Client Officer for Golden Rod Companies. They delve into the importance of relationships in business, with Mario emphasizing the value of conveying your principles and work ethic in every interaction. Mario shares his career journey, starting with architecture and moving into finance, which included a stint at Merrill Lynch and a 21-year tenure at TIAA. He discusses his diverse roles, from starting a Trust Company to leading the executive relations forum and the Hispanic market nationally. Furthermore, he shares his experience of shifting to entrepreneurship and the formation of his own consulting firm, M Ramirez Group. This episode offers invaluable insights into career transitions, the power of relationships, and the importance of adaptability in business.
Podcast Episode
Episode Transcript
Mario Ramirez 0:00
When you meet somebody, try to convey your, some of your values and principles of
who you are. You know, you're, you're, you're reliable, you're loyal. You're your
work ethic, and they get to know you. And all of a sudden that becomes valuable at
some point. But until that point occurs, just keep the relationship going. And there's
value in every relationship.
Brent Williams 0:25
Welcome to the Be Epic podcast, brought to you by the Sam M. Walton College of Business
at the University of Arkansas. I'm your host, Brent Williams. Together, we'll explore
the dynamic landscape of business, and uncover the strategies, insights, and stories
that drive business today. Well, today I have with me Mario Ramirez. Mario is President
of the M Ramirez group, his own consulting firm, and he's also the Chief Client Officer
for Golden Rod Companies. Mario, thanks for joining me today.
Mario Ramirez 0:59
You're welcome, Brent, it's great to be here. Thanks for having me.
Brent Williams 1:03
Well, Mario, you're a great supporter of the University of Arkansas Walton College
and an alum of the Walton College and your your relationships here, across campus
go pretty deep, don't they?
Mario Ramirez 1:18
They really do. They do. And I'm, I'm a proud alum, also proud dad of, of one alum,
and two current students one law student and in one, undergrad. So a lot of relationships
across the campus, for sure.
Brent Williams 1:36
Well, where I want us to focus on today will be sort of the power of relationships
in business. But but before that, maybe a little bit about your journey, your career
journey thus far. And then a little bit of, I think, you know, mentioned, you have
your own consulting firm, you're also working in real estate with golden rod, and
a few other things. So I'd love to hear kind of your journey and what you're up to
now.
Mario Ramirez 2:03
Sure. Thanks, Brent, you know, I told somebody the other day that I that I studied
architecture, in college, and I did for a year, then I then I moved to finance. And
that's what I got my degree in. I had cold called with a good friend and fraternity
brother, Kenny Gibbs at Merrill Lynch and had when I interviewed at Merrill Lynch,
for my first job, they hired me, I said, why'd you hire me? And they said, well, Kenny
Gibbs put a good word in for you. And when I thanked Kenny, he said, no, just just
pay it forward. Next time, you will have an opportunity to do the same thing. And
I've never forgotten about that. My entire career. In my I think my involvement in
nonprofits or in helping students in in board work kind of stems from that premise.
But that said, I started with Merrill Lynch, was there five years I left there, I
felt a little bit ethically challenged with one particular main manager. So I left
and I had, I wanted to leave brokerage, I wanted to get more into other financial
services more broadly. And start to run out of money. And so I ended up my dad was
saying, Can I can I give you some money, some money and I said no. I don't need any
money, but I needed money. And so we were married, and I asked my next door neighbor
who ran and ran a lawn service. I said, can I he put me on the crew. And he said,
okay, we'll put you on the crew. And so I'd go mow 20-25 lawns a day, come home, take
a shower, put a suit on, go to an interview. And so I found TIAA, transitioned over
to TI. It's now called TIAA at the time, it was TI Cref. I spent 21 years there. And
starting from an advisory role. Working with the University of Arkansas actually actually
played a big part in this. They I was the the president of the local alumni chapter
in Dallas. And they needed somebody to come in and work with the institutions across
the state of Ark, of Arkansas. And so they said, you're a perfect fit. So I did that.
That's where I started my career with TI CREF. And then, you know, they wanted me
to help them create a Trust Company, which I did, I worked with, you know, beginning
the Trust Company. Then we started wealth management, started working with our highest
our wealthiest clients. And so I became one of the first directors in wealth management
than they asked me to create something specifically for because the company focuses
on cost large universities, nonprofits around the country it's a trillion dollar pension
fund. They said we need, we need you to create something for the very the decision
makers, the most influential leaders across the organizations that we serve. So I
stepped into that role created that and helped help form, you know, Private Client
Services. Then I eventually worked with with our CEO Roger Ferguson, in leading the
executive relations forum, and also the Hispanic market nationally. I left there,
and I started my own consulting firm. I remember, I wasn't sure what I was going to
do, I knew that we were having a downsizing in the company. And in a couple of months,
my position was going to be eliminated. I remember asking a good friend of mine, a
former governor, you know, what do you think I should do? And he said, well, you have
a pretty incredible network. Why don't you? Why don't you use that network and establish
a consulting firm, opened doors for families like ours, and others, and help help
us build our businesses. And so they and he said, I will be your first client. And
so that's how I started M Ramirez Group. And then I put different components together
around it, for example, tax expertise, and also insurance. And basically different
parts of my group came together to serve the clients. And since I was licensed leaving
TIAA licensed, securities license, I was able to represent companies that are raising
capital, for example, projects that are raising capital. And so it was a it was a
good fit all around in ways to, you know, create in a way to serve the needs of ultra
high net worth families, influential families. Along the course of this development
of this business, I met Zach Wiegert. And Zach is a former NFL player and started
investing in real estate. And he eventually created Golden Rod Companies, Golden Rod
Funds, about four and a half billion in assets, and properties. And he asked me to
be his Chief Client Officer, and working with some of the same families that I've
been working with and other wealthy individuals, and we invest in large projects around
the center, central part of the country.
Brent Williams 7:29
Well, I can tell that it's been a lot of fun in the journey, not not, including TIA,
probably Merrill to some degree, but certainly, since then, I can tell you, I've had
a lot of fun putting these things together.
Mario Ramirez 7:44
Definitely.
Brent Williams 7:46
You know, one part of your story I didn't quite remember until just then, was that
the, the opportunity at TIAA came ultimately, because of your service on leading the
alumni group in Dallas.
Mario Ramirez 8:00
It really did. Yeah.
Brent Williams 8:02
So you know, talk a little bit about that, because that's clearly an investment of
time you made that you didn't necessarily have an expectation of it paying off that
way.
Mario Ramirez 8:13
It's interesting, you put it that way, because I've had people ask me, why do you
volunteer? Why do you get involved, you know, on a, on a board? You know, I serve
on your board, and it's an honor to do so. And, and they say, you don't, you don't
get paid with that. And I said, you really do that, because the relationships that
you make, there and really the the work that you're doing to help, you know, students
in the university that you love. So it was it was a natural fit for TIAA to say, hey,
why don't you come help us in the state of Arkansas? It was it was a perfect fit.
And, and it was, it was interesting, going back to former professors, and working
with them, you know, on their, on their retirement planning on their financial planning,
and eventually working with, you know, the leadership here, the university and the
coaches and, and eventually doing that nationally. But it did all start with really
the relationship with the University of Arkansas and relationships that I have within
that, within our school, our university.
Brent Williams 9:24
Yeah. What do you think it is? I mean, clearly, you have a propensity to really invest
in relationships, not necessarily with an expectation of return. But, but knowing
more broadly, they will return. How do you think maybe even going back to the to the
way you grew up, how did you learn that?
Mario Ramirez 9:44
That's a good that's a good question. How I learned that I'm not honestly, I'm not
really sure how I learned it. I I want to be able to I want to be care about the relationship
that I'm, that I'm involved with or that I, you know, I guess, if I listen to my own
advice, when I'm when I meet with students, for example, you know, I'll tell them,
I'll tell them, hey, it's, has anybody heard, the idea of, it's who you know, and
you'll get a lot of hands raised. And I'll say, okay, write that down. And, and then
I'll say, okay, now rip that sheet of paper out of your, out of your notebook and
throw it away. Because it's not who you know, because we all know a lot of people,
I tell them, it's kind of cheesy, but it's who knows you. And what I tell students,
and I guess I've follow my own advice when you meet somebody. And it doesn't have
to be anyone note worthy, so to speak. When you meet somebody, try to convey your,
some of your values and principles of who you are, you know, your, your you're reliable,
you're loyal, your, your work ethic, your you know, what, what value you can bring
to the relationship or what in the work that you do. And they get to know you, somewhat.
And all of a sudden, that becomes valuable at some point. But until that point occurs,
just keep the relationship going. And there's value in every relationship. And I don't
know, we don't know what it is sometimes upfront, it may be a few years down the road,
before you understand what that value is, and how it fits into your overall kind of
walk in life.
Brent Williams 11:32
Yeah
Mario Ramirez 11:33
You know, or in your career. And I guess I'm just kind of thought about it that way.
Brent Williams 11:37
Largely worked in financial services. And that's started to broaden for you. But,
you know, as you as you work across industries now, and you know, interact across
those throughout your career, it seems to me that the power of relationships, matters,
no matter what area of business that you're working in.
Mario Ramirez 11:59
Yeah, no question, no question and finances, it really matters because you're dealing
with with something very personal to these individuals, and they need to know that,
that they can trust you, that you're looking out for their best interest. So you need
to establish that trust. And that's really the case in any business that you're working
in. And so I think that's maybe what I strive to do establish the trust, and so that
you can have honest conversations about how we can collaborate, we can work together,
you hear this statement all the time. You know it's great to work with, you know,
with good people, great to put good people together. You know, part of that is, is
is knowing who those good people know, knowing the good people that at, at a relationship
level, excuse me, the, building the relationship first. That's what I'm trying to
say, and then understanding where you can insert yourself to help them.
Brent Williams 13:04
Yep, you know, almost, I've got our students in mind, and this doesn't, what we're
going to talk about does not just apply to students, it applies to me. But it applies
to probably just anybody out there building any kind of career. You said something
a moment ago, like when you when you meet someone and you start building a relationship,
you want to convey your values in some way really early on. And and that is not something
you know, you don't I don't think you've ever walked up to me and said, hey, Brent,
here's my values, right? So you, you demonstrate that through action, what are just
some any just like simple, like practical ways that you do that?
Mario Ramirez 13:47
I know that families or individuals that I work with, that are high net worth, ultra
high net worth a lot, they they're they're in demand. And so they get asked a lot
of them. So if you sit down with someone like this, to not ask for something, except
to understand who they are, and for him for them to understand who you are, kind of
where you're from, what you're, what you're about, and what they're about, listen
to them. And not ask not ask anything of them at all, is is one way. And that's that's
usually pretty evident. It's in the sense that they're so used to getting asked, you
know, so that's one way to do it, I think following up with whatever was discussed,
you know, and promised in a timely manner, in the appropriate way, you know, is is
another way to demonstrate that and just just showing them that you're actually listening
to them as they're talking.
Brent Williams 14:58
You know what I went out talk to our students, when I get to give, you know, advice
in this area, there's two things you just said that I think are really key. One is
the ability to listen. Underrated skill, the the ability to listen. But the other
is follow up, that is very, very important, right in terms of the, the relationship
building process.
Mario Ramirez 15:22
It is, it really is and, and follow up not only on specific items that were requested,
or that were, that were discussed, let's say, but also just follow up, you know, if
you're, you know, we all do, we all travel in our careers, and even personally, and
you know, who's in that city that you're going where you're going to, you know, you
have your agenda, your schedule, your itinerary for that time that you're there, but,
you know, is there anybody you need to follow up with, you know, and just catch up
with, and, and staying relevant with people, and, you know, business aside, just kind
of caring about those, those people as as how they, how they do in life, you know,
and just staying in touch is, is a good thing, you know, relationships and friendships
there, they, they become more and more valuable, I think the older you become just,
you know, you start really emphasizing that.
Brent Williams 16:21
Yeah and the value you get out of those relationships often sort of evolves over time,
I would say, you know, and but you said something that made me think about, you know,
say, truly caring, right, and I think that's really where where it starts with relationships
is truly just caring about the well being of the people around you.
Mario Ramirez 16:43
Regardless of the position of somebody, you know, an executive or it doesn't, doesn't
matter, any, any level, you know, professionally, caring about that individual, you
know, who they are, where they are in life and is there anything you can do to to
help, you know, sincerely, is, I think, I think, I think people will understand and
feel the sincerity in your, in your discussion in your voice, and, but it's really
identifying in a business setting and identifying what the needs are, and approaching
it in a very consultative way, you know, here's how, a couple of different ways that
we could, we could help and, and then get the best resources possible to address those
particular, you know, pain points or challenges.
Brent Williams 17:34
You know, one thing that, that I wanted to bring up that I observed in, in getting
to be around you, you and I are around each other quite a bit. Even though we live
in, in different places, you know, innovation is often putting, not always just creation,
right? It's often about putting unique things together. Sometimes that's relationships.
You know, and, and I see, I see you do that a lot like you think about like, oh, how
does this relationship fit with this? And how do I bring those people together? And
it's kind of allowed you to get into lots of really fun and unique projects.
Mario Ramirez 18:16
Yeah, you know, the going back to caring about people understanding where they are
in life. Part of that is understanding what they're doing, what their priorities are,
I used to walk into, into when I was at TI Cref, I'd walk into the president's office
and, and one of the questions I would always ask is, what do you think about first
thing, you walk in the door here in the morning? And what's the last thing on your
mind when you leave? When you close that door? What's on your mind on the way out
the door? And those are the things I want to try to help you with. And it could be
any number of things. I remember one president said, well, okay, we need to build
a pedestrian bridge on the south end of campus, and I need to get it done. But I need
some political help to navigate that and, and get the funding for it. And this, you
know, and we were able to put together the right individuals to help in that situation.
But opportunities, I see a lot of opportunities, I see a lot of deals, I see a lot
of projects, and in companies that are raising capital or growing. You know, I had
one the other day. And they they they're building a factory in one part of the country.
And I said, well, what if you put the factory in a different part of the country,
we could get the right investors involved here. We could get the right political capital
involved. We could get the university involved. We could we could allow the university
to provide jobs into this and it itself this project is going to create 1,000 new
jobs so but coordinating all the different pieces meant that I needed to know what
each component who the the point person would be on each component part of that. And
I think just getting to know, people developing relationships gives me the kind of
the bank of, of priorities for each individual and how to match that up. Does that
make sense?
Brent Williams 20:21
That totally make sense. That's, that's exactly right. I don't think I've ever until
I'm sitting here, I don't know that I've ever thought about innovation in that way.
I've always thought about innovation as putting unique things together that may not
have ever been put together, that's innovation. But it also works with relationships,
too. And I guess that's often key to getting something new and unique and different
done.
Mario Ramirez 20:46
Yeah. Yeah, it really is, you know and when you have those relationships you know,
I think it's, yeah, I think it's important when you have a board, for example, to
understand, to get to know, each board member, each board member is then re giving
their time, there are some very important business things that are usually going on
that day, but they're here, you know, and each one has something to give. So developing
the relationship and understanding where their heart is, what, what they what they
can provide, what kind of, you know, intelligent, or business intuition or business
insight they might have, that they could help, in this case, the Walton College, you
know, with what, and then and then kind of storing that away and knowing, well, I
really like this person and gotten to know them over the past couple of years. And
I know that they have a company that that specializes in this, and maybe in a couple
of years, we'll develop something in that space. You know, so you understand how to
match that up at the right moment.
Brent Williams 21:25
Agreed. Well, you know, Mario, you've after, I know, you're still involved in the
finance industry in some way. But but your career has evolved into you're more and
more involved in real estate, with Golden Rod as an example, you've also been involved
in with large construction companies. So how's that transition been? And, you know,
into into that realm?
Mario Ramirez 22:26
Yeah, it's funny, it's all very symbiotic let me say it that way. Everything's related
to to the other. You know, as I look at my role with Golden Rod, it's, it's as Chief
Client Officer, we're doing some really cool projects, we're building, you know, a
$500 million hotel and condo, you know, what, together with the Atlanta Braves at
the, at the Battery, in Atlanta overlooking the stadium, that's a neat project, you
know, but if you look at the fund, itself, that this project is coming out of, it's
very investor friendly. So I work with a lot of investors I work with, you know, high
net worth families that are that are looking to, for for investments that have value
to them, that are set up the right way. And, for instance, in that particular case,
the fund is very investor friendly. So it's easy to to, to discuss and bring up and
it can be, you know, I, I wouldn't be involved with it if I didn't think it was a
good match for some of the individuals that I work with. So the work that we're doing
there is meaningful and really designed for the clientele that I've been working with.
One of the families that I've been working with over the past several years, they
do have a very large infrastructure company, Southland Holdings. And they decided
to go public in the past year, and they invited me to join the board, which has been
really exciting. You know, we went up to New York to ring the bell, and to see this
company that that started, you know, in the last generation, and to see it start from
from, you know, immigrants from Italy, starting the construction company that has
acquired, you know, has grown on their own grown through acquisition now owns American
Bridge, for example, the company that built the Empire State Building,
Brent Williams 24:27
Yeah,
Mario Ramirez 24:27
It's just really, really a neat American story.
Brent Williams 24:31
Absolutely. Some iconic projects I've gotten to visit Southland with you.
Mario Ramirez 24:36
Yeah
Brent Williams 24:36
The headquarters. And to walk along and see the iconic projects throughout this country's
history that they've been involved in is actually truly tremendous.
Mario Ramirez 24:46
It really is. It really is seeing, seeing the Astrodome and the Oakland Bay Bridge
and the Tappan Zee Bridge up in New York. And of course, you know, even aircraft carriers
and battleships during World War II. Seeing the things that that we've built as a
company over the, over the decades. And they're really part of American history.
Brent Williams 25:11
Yeah.
Mario Ramirez 25:11
It's neat.
Brent Williams 25:12
You know, Mario, you've heard me say this many times, I think I think one of the Walton
College's most important competitive advantages, you will, if you will, is our connectivity,
connectivity to companies and our alumni. It seems to me that, you know, the U of
A and the Walton College has really been a big part of your story. I mean, going back,
I guess, to, you know, getting you in the door in some way in TIAA, but it's really
continue, you've really, you've really continued to invest in this set of relationships.
And it's, it's, I don't know that I would say it's the absolute core, but it certainly
has been important throughout that journey.
Mario Ramirez 25:54
Well it's been important to me, you know, that Walton College and the University.
You know, I've gotten so much out of it, relationships, you know, from my family,
my wife, you know, we met here, we met in front of the Walton College, actually, right
in front of it. And, you know, now having my kids go to school here, having lifelong
friendships here, so it means a lot to me. And so to be able to serve on the board,
and give back in a variety of ways, is something as it's a priority, you know, frankly,
but, you know, the Walton College makes it in the connectivity that you're referred
to, I think that what makes it easy, what makes that flourish, and you're right, it
does here, it really does, among our students, our alumni, our board, the leadership
of the college, I think it's, it's the same quality that I see that I was place as
my number one quality for leaders, for good leaders, if somebody were to ask me, what's
the number one quality in a good leader? I'd say humility. And I see that here. And
humility in the sense that regardless of position, CEO of any company, you know, that
we all know of any any company or, you know, a wealthy family or individual doesn't
matter. They're open to hearing what the students have to say,
Brent Williams 27:25
Yeah,
Mario Ramirez 27:25
They're open to hearing what the leadership has to say about the college.
Brent Williams 27:29
Yeah.
Mario Ramirez 27:29
And where it's going,
Brent Williams 27:30
You you hit on something there, that's really important. It is kind of who we are.
Right, you know. And you and I were just a, you know, at a luncheon, where I observed,
you know, one of our students get a chance to tell these really successful people,
they were asked they, they wanted to know what she thought, right? They wanted to
learn from her. And, you know, and she was able to voice, you know, that actually,
what was really important to her was being able to make an impact through her internships
and her career. And I was walking, I was looking around that room and watching people
glued to her. And these are very successful people. They're running big companies,
they've got busy lives. But it does take humility to do that. And, and I think that,
that it's, it's a part of who we are.
Mario Ramirez 28:26
It really is, you know, we, we talked about how so many universities now, you may
get admitted to the university, but that doesn't mean that you're necessarily a part
of that business school. You know, you need to apply again for that. In not in every
case, you don't get in, in every case. Right. So, but here, we do we allow that. And
I don't think we as a college, as you know, the Walton College. We're not we, although
we're an elite school of business, we don't presume ourselves to be elitist. You know,
we're not, we're not. We we're humble enough to be in that room and be open with these
students. Make them feel comfortable. You know, because they're stressing over the
past week. We got to go present before the board. They probably told their parents,
I have this tomorrow. I'm really stressed about it. But yeah, hopefully they got in
there and they felt comfortable. And they actually had good conversations and, you
know, some of the board members are asking them can, can we ask them advice of you?
You know, which is great.
Brent Williams 29:33
You know, one thing I love about this state is, is just that, you know, hard work
is still valued, ingenuity is still valued, humble. Humility is still valued. And
it's really, really fun to get to see people like you and others on the Dean's Executive
Advisory Board model that for those students that were in the room And, you know,
you probably really don't know the kind of impact that ultimately makes. But it does
make a difference.
Mario Ramirez 30:08
Well, I hope it does, I think it does. And if that if we can convey that value to
our students, in how we design our curriculum, and how we teach our students and how
we, you know, carry ourselves, you know, in the public eye on, you know, even within
the walls of the Walton College, I think that's, that's a homerun, you know, that's
a, that's a value that you can't really, it's hard to teach in a class, you have to
demonstrate it, I think it's sort of an intangible. It's, it's sort of an innate ability,
that can be maybe trained through demonstration, as opposed to maybe being taught
in a book. And it's so so important.
Brent Williams 31:00
What you said couldn't be more right. Like, you know, like getting things in business
done, often is about again, we'll go back to that the power of relationships and Mario,
I'll say thank you for investing in the relationship with the Walton College and investing
in our students and, and helping us by using, you know, that that network of relationships
that you've created on our behalf, so thank you.
Mario Ramirez 31:29
You're welcome. It's my pleasure, Brent, thank you for your leadership.
Brent Williams 31:32
On behalf of the Walton College, thank you for joining us for this captivating conversation.
To stay connected and never miss an episode, simply search for Be Epic on your preferred
podcast service.
Brent D. Williams is the Dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas.
With a deep commitment to fostering excellence in business education and thought leadership,
Dr. Williams brings a wealth of experience to his role, shaping the future of the
college and its impact on students and the business community.
