Missed Opportunity

 

Well, the election is over and the American people have spoken. In my opinion, a valuable opportunity was missed last night. In my opinion the electorate had the chance to summon a new leader to the helm, a man whose brains, energy and talent would have put our ship of state back on course, and at a very invigorating pace. So while I may grieve a bit for missed opportunities, I don't fret too much for my friend Mitt. He will be fine. He has too much drive, too many plans to stay sidelined for long. Wherever he heads next, I know he will be consumed with doing good works. Because that's what he always does.

Bill Bain Speaks

Bill Bain, the founder of Bain & Company and Bain Capital, is a man who typically avoids the harsh glare of the media spotlight. Nevertheless, he has chosen to speak out recently in an effort to combat the barrage of deceptive attacks being waged on Bain as a means to discredit Mitt Romney. The article, available on the Daily Beast website, is linked below.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/26/bill-bain-speaks-the-unfair-attacks-are-not-worth-responding-to.html

The Real Bain

The Boston Globe has published today my opinion piece in defense of Mitt Romney and the time he spent working at Bain & Company and Bain Capital. Romney and I worked together closely at Bain & Company beginning in the late-1970s. I saw first-hand the man's amazing talents and intelligence. He worked as hard and as smartly as anyone I have ever known. Further, he had a deep and genuine compassion for others. He was an inspiring individual.

Look, no matter which candidate you vote for next month, you want to choose based on solid facts and true information. And in my view this recent spate of attacks on Mitt Romney based on his time spent at Bain is totally spurious. Maybe you have deep ideological beliefs that impel you toward one candidate over another. Maybe you just have a gut-feeling. Maybe you picked through eeny meeny miny moe. Fine. But no undecided voter looking for clean data on which to sincerely weigh the pros and cons should be force-fed false and misleading information (naive as I know that sounds). And these phony attacks on Bain as a way of discrediting Romney are just that - false, misleading and manipulative.

Those interested can find my article here on the Boston Globe opinion page.

Shanghai-based New Pacific Consulting Now a Member of The Parthenon Group

I am extremely pleased to announce today the merger of New Pacific Consulting, a Shanghai-based consulting firm, with The Parthenon Group. New Pacific Consulting is a leader in providing advisory services to private equity firms and industrial companies investigating opportunities in China. This merger adds a fifth member to the worldwide number of Parthenon Group offices - Boston, London, Mumbai, San Francisco, and now Shanghai - and brings to about 300 our total representatives across the planet. Below I've assembled a few links to further describe the merger, and the benefits it extends to the entire Parthenon Group and its clients.

• An Asian Venture Capital Journal article summarizing the merger.
• The Parthenon Group press release.
• The rebranded New Pacific Consulting website.
• A Parthenon.com webpage highlighting the new Shanghai office.

New Webcast: Coping with Global Deficit Reduction

In this 45-minute presentation, Parthenon's Chief Economist, Roger Brinner, our Deputy Chief Economist, Richard DeKaser, and I present our further analysis of the ongoing economic situation. The events of the past few months have been extraordinary, and turbulence seems to be the new norm. A close inspection of the lay of the land is more necessary than ever. Join us as we examine the data, and work to predict the terrain ahead.

http://www.parthenon.com/ThoughtLeadership/TheEconomicChallengeCopingwithGlobalDeficitReduction

Mistaken Identity?

 

I'm not certain how I ended up crooning the other night with Jane Krakowski. Could it be my stunning resemblance to Alec Baldwin? She may have confused the two of us. I get that a lot.