Tribute to 9/11 Victim Joseph J Berry

Part of the 2996 Tribute Project

A proper tribute to Joseph J Berry must start with his family for he valued his family above all else as this article and this make clear. But along with being a wonderful husband and father he was also an extraordinarily successful executive and it is this aspect of Joseph J Berry I wish to expand on.

Just to get some perspective on the outline and dimension of his success in business consider this simple listing of the various job titles he held throughout his career:
Men’s Clothing Salesman
Math Teacher
Vice President of Equity Sales
Senior Vice-President
Executive Vice-president
President and Chief Operating Officer
Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board

His early position as a math teacher hints at his analytical ability and indeed Joseph Berry spent his career in the arcane world of financial institutions and their incredibly complex transactions. In this world he not only mastered the technical details, a daunting feat itself, but added two other important dimensions, the human and strategic perspectives.

His continuing involvement and success in equity sales speaks to his ability to build strong personal relationships with his customers. His position at the highly respected firm of Keefe, Bruyette and Woods gave him excellent products to sell that created real value for his clients. Nevertheless, the nature of sales work always requires personally facing difficult situations without the resources to control the outcome. Those without the empathy to truly understand the customer, the fortitude to sustain their own energy and optimism, and the strength of character to maintain their integrity, cannot enjoy lasting success in this challenging field. Joseph J Berry however, possessed all of these traits in abundance.

His ability to lead through consensus also speaks to his mastery of the human and strategic elements in business. Managing highly skilled professionals, such as the traders and analysts employed at Keefe, Bruyette and Woods has been quite properly compared to herding cats. Only someone with the ability to let all employees know their opinions had been heard and respected combined with the ability to find the key common elements to set a vision and strategies providing daily guidance to employees and keeping the firm moving in the right direction can be successful. Again, Joseph J Berry possessed these abilities in abundance.

Finally the continuing success of the firm he ultimately headed speaks to Joseph Berry’s abilities as an executive. From its founding in 1962 through to today Keefe, Bruyette and Woods has enjoyed both steady financial growth and the respect of customers and even competitors. As one of the early employees, hired in 1972, and as a leading member of the management team who helped to set and implement strategic direction, Joseph J Berry was a key contributor to the firm’s outstanding success.

With these outstanding achievements it is no wonder that for the last two years of his life Joseph Berry was honored as one of the top fifty Irishmen on Wall Street by Irish America Magazine. Although he always placed his family first he achieved an uncommon level of success in his career. Doing both so well made him a truly extraordinary person.