The (Business) World According to Loo

Morgan Stanley Executive director Paul Loo has a lot of stories about his age.

Morgan Stanley Executive director Paul Loo has a lot of stories about his age. In July, when the market was way down, a client came in and asked to talk to Loo. "So he pops his head in and asks, 'Is this going to be like it was in 1929?'

I said, 'Wait a minute, I wasn't born yet. Don't put me back that far,'" says Loo 75, laughing. Loo has been with Morgan Stanley for 47 years.

We asked him to sit down with us and share some of what he has learned.

Paul Loo on longevity
In 2001, a couple of our guys were approached by the manager of one of our competitors. He said, "Well, Loo has been there a long time and he is probably going to retire and there is probably going to be some turmoil. So why don't you come over and talk to me?"

I was really kind of tickled by that because since then that firm has had three managers. I am 75. I am the oldest manager in the entire firm now. Someone said, at a national meeting, "Loo has been with the firm so long that the globe in his office has to be flat."

On luck
I joined Dean Witter in 1960. The same year, another guy, who works harder then me, joined. Then he was offered a job to jump to a company that was a star of the '70s. EF Hutton. Well, EF Hutton went virtually under. [The guy who left] declared personal bankruptcy five years ago and he is in his 70s. Napoleon once said, "Don't give me smart generals, give me lucky ones." I am a lucky general. I am not the smartest manager around, I just picked the right platform. Once you get on the right platform, don't get off.

On mentoring
I look at the 26-year-old broker out there, working hard, doing well. And I say to myself, now that I've got what I need, what can I do to drag this person through the same tube so when he or she is 75, they can build a building, fund a scholarship, do good works for the homeless. And if with my life experience, I don't help him or her, then I am wasting my life experience.

On success
Success is not numbers. I would not just accept a high-producing broker who comes in for a job. I would pick another broker, who is not as high producing, but is more anxious to be a community leader 20 years down the pike. He wants to be the chamber of commerce president. He wants to build shelters for the homeless. These are the kind of things you have to lend to your community and if you don't, I don't think that justifies you making a lot of money.

On investments
I want people to take a long-range, conservative point of view. Because that is the way you build wealth. You don't take undue risk. Most of us came here without too much money in our pockets. A lot of us came and we had to work for two generations to get the hell off the plantation. Should these people throw their money away? Can they afford to gamble? Can they do options?

On revolving CEOs
Somehow corporate America likes to change a lot. And maybe that's good. But I am a little old-fashioned. If you have a guy in Hong Kong, he ought to be able to, even though he might be a haole from Alabama, he ought to be able to speak Chinese, use chopsticks, be there for a long time and belong to the Hong Kong Symphony, the Hong Kong Jockey club and all that.

On executive compensation
I am senior officer of the firm, I still fly economy. My competitors fly first class, a lot of them. Well why am I such a fool to sit in the back and upgrade at my own expense? I do this because when a hard-working employee, whose husband may be out of a job, has two kids to send to school, comes in to say, "Can I have a raise?" I would like to have a pool of money, rather than me to go first class.

On Hawaii
What have I learned from Hawaii? I have learned a sense of ohana. If I voted for Case and didn't like Akaka, I would still consider Dan and Millie friends of mine. We go beyond political lines here, we go beyond competitive lines here. We deal with people as friends. This is something that doesn't happen on the Mainland.

On owning a second home
I have thought often about having a nice condo like a lot of my friends do in San Francisco. But I sort of said to myself, "Should anyone have two to three homes, when there are people who have no home?" I just think that some kid who is trying to take a shower out on a public beach, living in a tent, deserves more money than Loo having a nice condo on Nob Hill.

On executive decisions
Whatever decisions I make I ask myself, "Is my decision to the benefit of the employees?" And it is only to my benefit, to my bottom line, maybe it's not right. I think when you do that, you don't go through life grabbing all the marbles as we do when we are little kids.

On executive egos
You really have to put your ego aside, which is why, while he is brilliant and while he is wealthy, I don't have a lot of respect for Donald Trump. Can you imagine being on national television and telling the world you're fired?

On work
I have lost my pension for the last 13 years. So if I come to work and I don't get a bonus and we don't do well, and I only get my salary, I am losing money coming to work. I think that is so funny. Then I have to pay for my own parking.

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