Daily Record Financial News &
Monday, August 15, 2016
Vol. 103, No. 196 • Two Sections
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
TIAA: ‘Can’t afford not to’ buy EverBank
As far as TIAA Chief Executive Officer Roger Ferguson was concerned, the question wasn’t whether his company could afford the $2.5 billion price tag for EverBank Financial Corp. The question was, how could it afford not to? After agreeing last week to buy Jacksonville-based EverBank, Ferguson held an all-employee phone call to explain the rationale for the deal. TIAA is a private, not-for-profit company, but since EverBank is public, EverBank posted a transcript of the call in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. “So why are we doing this? Several years ago we decided we
needed to add banking services to our portfolio of capabilities, not only to achieve our long-term strategy, but more importantly, to fulfill our customer-focused mission. Because lifetime financial well-being is built on a lifelong series of financial decisions, and for most people, that starts with savings,” Ferguson said. TIAA is a diversified financial services company that focuses on serving people in the academic, research, medical, cultural and government fields. The company opened a bank in 2012 and plans to merge it into EverBank to expand its operations. “Some of you might be wonder-
Legal career delayed 2 decades
ing how we can afford to do this in today’s challenging economic environment. I might say that we can’t afford not to do it,” he said. “It’s true that we need to continually manage expenses prudently in response to the financial pressures driven by interest rates that have been much lower for much longer than originally forecast and also by ongoing market volatility and uncertainty,” he said. “But we need to work both
sides of the margin equation, growing revenue and managing expenses. That means we’ll continue to invest in the business and seize smart opportunities that help us achieve our goals including the right inorganic opportunities like this one,” Ferguson continued. “Savings and borrowing are essential components at all life stages. And this acquisition will enable us to scale more quickly in this area and bring new sources of revenue and margins to the firm,” he said. TIAA hopes to complete the acquisition next year but a Bloomberg News report last week said Basch continued on Page A-2
Never straying from goal ‘On the Rise’ winner knew early on she wanted to be a lawyer By David Chapman Staff Writer
After 20 years as a project manager, Atwood became lawyer
Gene Atwood was obviously cut out to be an attorney, but it took him two decades to realize that and embrace it. He first thought about a law career in 1973 while an English major at Jacksonville University. He took the Law School Admissions Test but opted to go into commercial real estate instead. He’d worked construction in high school and liked building things. When Atwood applied for a position with The Haskell Co., he underwent two days of psychological testing to assess his career aptitudes. The psychologist who administered the tests told him his scores also indicated he’d be well suited for Atwood the law. That “planted a seed,” Atwood said. But at the time, that’s all it was. Atwood worked his way up from assistant project manager to division manager at Haskell. He then left the company to join Mel Smith Inc., a small Jacksonville firm. Smith was a friend from high school and Atwood enjoyed the atmosphere of a smaller firm. In the early 1990s, while working on a $10 million project at the Jacksonville International Airport, Smith’s firm became involved in a lawsuit against the city, along with 21 other subcontractors. continued on
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Joni Poitier, an attorney with Moseley Prichard Parrish Knight & Jones, was named as an “On The Rise” top 40 young attorney by the American Bar Association. She is the only one from Jacksonville and one of three in Florida to earn the distinction. Poitier’s time outside the office is largely devoted to volunteering and church, but she also has hobbies like painting. The pictured piece is one of hers.
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By Maggie FitzRoy Contributing Writer
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Joni Poitier knew early on she was destined to join the legal field. She knew in fifth grade after a former U.S. prosecutor visited her Miami elementary school and talked about making the streets safer for residents. Poitier liked that — it was a selfless role, something her father always professed to her even at a young age. She still knew in high school, when as a junior she interned for then Miami-Dade County Judge Wendell Graham. It was an opportunity many college and law school students would have relished. She didn’t take it for granted. “Within five minutes of talking to her, you could tell she would go anywhere she wanted to go,” said Graham, who is now an 11th Circuit judge. Poitier didn’t grow up in Jacksonville. She didn’t go to law school anywhere close to Florida. But she calls the city home now and has carved out quite a career so far. Poitier, 36, recently was named by the American Bar Association as an “On the Rise” Top 40 young lawyer. She was one of three in Florida and the only one in Jacksonville to earn the honor. Those named “exemplify a broad range of high achievement, innovation, vision, leadership and legal and community service,” according to the ABA’s website. When Poitier opened the congratulatory email, it took her by surprise. She didn’t know she had been nominated. She still doesn’t know who suggested her. Poitier’s colleagues at Moseley Prichard Parrish Knight & Jones were possibly “happier than I was,” she said, as congratulations streamed in. Phone calls and emails from her former peers at the State Attorney’s Office also were heartfelt in their praise. Yet, when asked about how she feels about the national recognition, Poitier smiles but doesn’t take the opportunity to talk about herself. “I was honored,” she said, quickly adding, “When you look at the other attorneys on the list, they’re pretty amazing.” She’s never done her job or time-intensive volunteer efforts for recognition,
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