As the newly appointed President of the Baltimore Chapter of FEI, I am pleased to post my first “newsletter” for our fiscal year 2023-2024.
First, a brief history of our organization and my relationship with FEI:
FEI was founded in 1931 as the Controllers Institute of America. In 1962 the name was changed to Financial Executives Institute. In late 2000 the organization became Financial Executives International. Today the organization has over 55 chapters in the U.S. alone. The Baltimore Chapter of FEI has been around since 1938! The chapter has had some notable members over the years, including executives from McCormick and Stanley Black and Decker, among others. Notably, the organization is member driven.
I have been a member of FEI for over 25 years (yes, I AM that old)! I’ve been a member of the Milwaukee Chapter, the Washington, D.C. Chapter, and, of course, the Baltimore chapter. I was honored to have served as Baltimore Chapter President back in 2012-2013. FEI has been an important part of my professional career. It has afforded me the opportunity to see and learn about many unique companies, meet many different people who have become an important part of my network, and learn about topics that I have been able to take back and apply to my job to make my company a better place.
Speaking of networking, the world has changed remarkably since my last tenure as President. Most notably, Covid has changed the way we work and meet. In person meetings have been replaced with Zoom and Teams Calls. Many have forgotten how to socialize. Executives are starting to see the negative impact of not being in person and are starting to require employees to be in the office, at least a few days a week. Zoom (as the Wall Street Journal refers to them “Remote-Work Champions”) recently called employees back to the office. They understand that meeting in person is required to build an effective team, to build bonds, to build trust. And for us, to build a network!
Harvey Mackay is a bestselling author who also had a syndicated column in the Business Journal and elsewhere for many years. Harvey probably wrote a dozen books, and his wisdom is timeless. I have probably read at least half of his books and my favorite title of his is “Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty”. As Harvey has stated
“If I had to name the single characteristic shared by all the truly successful people I’ve met over a lifetime, I’d say it is the ability to create and nurture a network of contacts.” The time to build your network of contacts who can help you find a job isn’t when you are unemployed, it is now – when you are employed, because building a network takes time, thought, and effort. And while LinkedIn is important, your LinkedIn network isn’t likely your true network unless all those contacts are people who you can pick up the phone and call and ask them to do you a favor… and they will actually do it… or at least consider it! If you are too busy now to build and nurture your network, when you have the need, it will be too late. It really is that simple.
So, where to start? Start with FEI. FEI is a wonderful way to network with other financial executives. One of them might just be able to help you land that next big job, or get better pricing with a vendor, or know that medical specialist that can really help your aging mother with a health issue, or maybe just become a true friend. For this reason, we are planning a season of events that will be a mix of pure networking events along with business roundtables, and company visits. More to follow on that.
Our kickoff event will be a purely social networking event at the
Capital Grille on Wednesday, August 30th from 5 to 7 p.m. The event is
FREE for all members, current FEI sponsors, and prospective members – all you financial executives out there needing to build your network… or just get out for a few hours. Drinks and heavy hors d’oeuvres will be served and valet parking is only available for only $13.
Members and Sponsors Register by Clicking Here. Non-Member Financial Professionals, please contact Denise Parker, Chapter Administrator, at [email protected] for registration support.
I look forward to seeing you on the 30
th at the Capital Grille!
Charles Baker
Sr. VP and CFO
American Trading and Production Corporation (“Atapco”)
Atapco Properties, Inc.