Less than six months into her role as chief executive at City National Bank, Kelly Coffey is already seeing the benefits from one of her new initiatives. Coffey has created a process at the company allowing her to field comments, questions and suggestions — both positive and negative — from employees at all levels. Coffey became just the fourth chief executive in City National’s 65-year history in February after a successful run as chief executive at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.’s U.S. Private Bank. “We all get better at what we do when we continue to get feedback,” Coffey told the Business Journal. So far, Coffey said she’s received input ranging from ideas about how to improve the bank’s investment products to calling out worn carpet in a hallway. She says she picked up the feedback concept from her former boss, J.P. Morgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon.
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An impressive array of local government officials, civic leaders and top executives — including L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles Rams Chief Operating Officer Kevin Demoff, L.A. Department of Transportation General Manager Seleta Reynolds and the consuls general from Japan and Germany — converged on the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown hotel June 6 for the Select LA Investment Summit. The conference featured a range of panels covering everything from the future of transportation in the city to growing esports opportunities and the city’s role on the international stage, playing host to major sporting events like the Super Bowl and the Olympics. It was a day filled with strong statements. Stephen Cheung, president of World Trade Center Los Angeles, proclaimed that leaders from L.A. “will be going to D.C. to demonstrate how L.A. is leading the way on foreign investment.” Another standout moment came from Maria Contreras-Sweet, managing partner of Rockaway Equity Partners, who recalled when her grandmother told her “if you work really hard one day, you might become a secretary.” Her grandmother was right — sort of. Contreras-Sweet served as secretary of the Small Business Administration under President Barack Obama.
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Rochelle Maize may not fit the typical Instagram user profile but don’t underestimate her social media game. The venerable Beverly Hills realtor was an early adopter to IG, which she smartly uses to power her listings for Nourmand & Associates. “I sold four properties last year just from posting on Instagram,” she recently told the Business Journal. “It’s crazy how it’s changing. I mean, (selling) a $10 million house in a day. You can predict your targets with the optimization tools.” Maize, who has two grown daughters, has more than 10,000 followers. She even copyrighted her inspired Instagram handle: 9021ro.
