Two Eagle Scouts cite their Scouting experiences in helping them achieve success in the business world

By Scott Wentworth

Eagle Scouts Brian Kasal and Bill Ross (photo courtesy of William Blair & Company)

Soon after graduating from Northern Illinois University in 1983, Brian Kasal began sending resumes and cover letters to stock brokerages throughout the Chicago area.

When one of those more than 100 letters resulted in an interview at a brokerage firm in suburban Oak Brook, Kasal figured his academic credentials must have caught the employer's eye. Little did he know that it was the Eagle badge he earned as a 14 year-old—not his recently earned bachelor's degree in economics—that allowed him to get his foot in the door.

Kasal recounted that interview 22 years later from his downtown Chicago office overlooking Lake Michigan: "So finally at the end of the interview the broker said to me, 'Brian, you're a nice guy, but you have no experience. I called you in because I saw on your resume that you're an Eagle Scout. I can't give you a job right now, but I invited you in because I wanted to meet an actual Eagle Scout.'"

Although the broker didn't have any job openings, he recommended Kasal to a coworker who gave Brian a start in the industry by hiring him as an assistant.

Today Kasal, 45, manages investment accounts for more than 100 clients as a financial advisor at William Blair & Company, an investment bank in Chicago celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. Even though he's no longer sending out resumes, his experiences with the Boy Scouts of American continue to pay dividends.

"Scouting gives you a great framework for understanding the leadership and discipline it takes to be successful in the securities industry and any aspect of life," Kasal said, noting that he knows numerous successful brokers who were once Boy Scouts.

As a 14-year-old Boy Scout in North Riverside, Ill., Kasal said he noticed the community's forest preserves were becoming littered with garbage and other waste. So for his final project en route to his Eagle badge, Brian lead his troop in an ambitious campaign to clean up the forests.

And today Kasal credits the countless hours he spent organizing the project with helping to teach him the perseverance necessary to succeed in an industry that has seen tough times, such as the stock market crash of 1987 and the Internet bubble earlier this decade.

"Through projects like the forest clean up, Scouting taught me to defy the odds and to stick with a goal you think is worthy no matter how difficult it may be to get there," he said.

Two Eagle Scouts better than one

Brian Kasal's clients benefit from the experiences of not just one, but two, Eagle Scouts.

In 2004 Kasal teamed up with fellow William Blair & Company financial advisor Bill Ross, 75, to work together in managing money. And it's more than just a coincidence that Kasal chose a fellow Eagle Scout as his partner.

"When people in the business world meet you and they tell you they're an Eagle Scout, it's instant credibility," Kasal said. "So I knew I could trust Bill as a partner."

Ross's Scouting experiences came during the 1940s in his native Winnetka, Ill., a northern suburb of Chicago. As a patrol leader, he would lead his Scouts in outdoors and athletic competitions against other patrols from his troop.

He remembers going up against another patrol leader and Eagle Scout who was particularly intense: Donald Rumsfeld, now U.S. Secretary of Defense.

"Even back then he was very competitive," Ross said of his former troopmate.

After graduating from Cornell University in 1952 and earning his Master's of Business Administration two years later, Ross enrolled in the U.S. Navy's Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I., as part of his military requirement.

Ross said the four-month Officer Candidate School was considered one of the most rigorous academic and physical programs in the world at the time.

"You go in as an enlisted man and come out as an officer," he said. "It's very intense."

He credits Scouting with helping him handle the discipline and leadership demands of the regimented school.

"In Scouting we learned discipline; we learned leadership," Ross said. "Officer Candidate School was just a breeze after Scouting."

Upon completing the program, Ross was commissioned as a supply officer aboard an aircraft carrier bound for the western Pacific Ocean. As the ship's disbursing officer, he was solely responsible for the distribution of millions of dollars of cash, part of which was delivered to American consulates and attaches along the carrier's route around South America.

"That was a lot of responsibility for a young guy right out of school," Ross said, noting again the value of Scouting in preparing young men to be dependable later in life.

Now Ross and Kasal have the responsibility of managing millions of dollars of investments for people who have placed their trust in them.

"Integrity is the No. 1 thing people look for in choosing a stock broker. They want someone they can totally trust," Ross said. "And, again, integrity, honesty and honor are all lessons that Scouting helped teach me."

He said the merit badge system reinforces these values by requiring the Scouts to be truthful about their efforts and accomplishments.

"It was assumed that all of the work you did was your own," he said. "All of it was on your honor."

Kasal said the Scout Motto—"Be Prepared"—should be taken to heart by everyone in the investment industry. A big part of Kasal's job as a financial advisor involves constantly evaluating the market conditions to identify opportunities and threats for his clients.

"There are so many pitfalls and opportunities in the securities industry," Kasal said. "You have to be prepared for those and you can't be caught flat-footed when they arise."

Giving back

When he's not navigating bull and bear markets, Kasal remains extremely involved in Scouting along with his sons, Evan, 13, a First Class Scout working on his Star badge, and Quinn, 10, a Webelos Scout.

Since Evan joined Tiger Cubs seven years ago, Kasal has held numerous leadership roles in Chicago-area Scouting. In addition to serving as the Community Chairman for his sons' Pack 3079, Kasal is a vice-president of the board of the Chicago Area Council, Boy Scouts of America.

From 1999 to 2003, Kasal served as Chairman of Investment Policy for the Chicago Area Council's trust fund. Leading the effort to strengthen the fund's investment strategy and policies brought Brian special fulfillment.

"It gives me great satisfaction to know I can contribute a skill that is sorely needed by all Scout councils in running their trust funds," he said.

"It's very rewarding that I can bring that back to Scouting in return for all that Scouting has done for me."

(August, 2005)