President,
Chief Executive
Greif & Co.

Greif founded his own investment bank after rising the ranks at Sutro & Co., one of the oldest investment banking firms on the West Coast. Greif oversees merger and acquisition transactions and financial needs for entrepreneurs across industries. In 1997 he established the Llyod Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at USC’s Marshall School of Business.

What’s the best advice you ever got?
Bob Emmons, my marketing professor, mentor and best friend, told me that, when it comes to right and wrong, there are no shades of gray, just black and white. Once you step across the line, before you know it, you’re a mile beyond the line so best to never cross it in the first place. It takes a lifetime to build your good name and reputation and a split-second to destroy it.

What’s your favorite movie, all time and in any category?
Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho.”

What’s at the top of your bucket list?
I don’t have a bucket list.

What was your first car?
A 1962 Corvette.

Like to have it back?
I cracked that one up in a car accident (ah, the joys of youth), but got back into another ’62 Vette which I still own to this day.

What’s the best thing about living in Los Angeles?
The thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem.

YEARS ON LA500: 9