wfn.org | Just One of the Gang

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

29-February-2000 
00095 
 
    Just One of the Gang 
 
    New CEO brings personal touch, chocolate kisses 
    to task of building a firm Foundation 
 
    by Evan Silverstein 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Nothing says "Just call me Bob" better than going through 
a 25-pound box of assorted Hershey chocolates in one's first few days as 
boss. 
 
    That's why Robert E. Leech, the new president and chief executive 
officer of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation, invited staff 
members to munch on Mr. Goodbars, Krackels and other such treats to kick 
off his first week on the job. The rich and creamy delicacies were also 
symbolic of where he had been - Hershey, Pa., which bills itself as the 
chocolate capital of the world. 
 
    "I think it was a nice surprise, and tied back to where I came from 
with the Hershey connection," said Leech, 54, who lived in Hershey for nine 
years before taking his new position with the Foundation on Jan. 3.  "I 
think it's important that people see me as approachable. Sometimes ... the 
president title kind of gives you the image of somebody who's not 
particularly approachable.  I told people ... they should call me by my 
first name - Bob.  It's not Mr. Leech." 
 
    Maintaining a team approach, he said, is pivotal for carrying out the 
Foundation's mission of administering monetary gifts to the Presbyterian 
Church (U.S.A.) and managing funds for Presbyterian churches and 
organizations. 
 
    "We want to have a kind of happy, positive attitude for the people that 
are working here - and that's my own personal attitude," Leech said.  "That 
is important.  I think it's important for the Foundation.  It's important 
for our daily relationships." 
 
    Leech was named the Foundation's top executive officer during an Oct. 
22 meeting of the corporation's board of trustees. He succeeds Larry Carr, 
who left the job in April, and James R. Henderson, who served as interim 
president and CEO after Carr's departure. 
 
    Leech, a lifelong Presbyterian, said he is "energized" by his first 
PC(USA) position and believes his presence here is no accident. 
 
    "I didn't set out to say that I wanted to do this," he admits, "but 
then I saw the opportunity ... to combine my banking and trust and 
mutual-fund background, which I enjoy, with the church and what the church 
is doing now; and also combine my Presbyterianism with that. It seemed to 
be a natural evolution for me ... and the environment of the church made it 
the perfect next step." 
 
    In addition to building solid relationships with church leaders, Leech, 
a self-proclaimed "people person," looks forward to visiting congregations 
and meeting donors across the church. 
 
    "People say, in many cases there's not a good knowledge of the 
Foundation, of what it does and the opportunities it has," Leech said. "I 
would see this as an opportunity just to meet the local pastor, have lunch 
and see what their thoughts are." 
 
    Leech, who now resides in Louisville with his wife Kathy, has a 
civic-minded side, too. He has a particular interest in the medical field, 
having served on hospital boards in his previous two communities.  Leech 
also has been involved in the arts, representing various museums, 
symphonies and dance groups. 
 
    "As I get acclimated here I hope to be able to do that," he said.  "I 
think it's an important thing for the Foundation to be seen as part of the 
community." 
 
    When he's not working, Leech will enjoy the serenity of his family's 
cabin in northern Minnesota. 
 
    "It's a nice way to commune with nature and with God," he said.  "It's 
pretty isolated, pretty deserted, and a way to get away, do a little 
fishing, some boating and swimming and that type of thing." 
 
    The board of trustees approved Leech as president/CEO after an 
eight-month national search.  Henderson, the former interim president, who 
now serves as board chair, said Leech's commitment to mission is key for 
the financial-services operation to keep moving forward. 
 
    "The Presbyterian Church Foundation is indeed fortunate to have Bob 
Leech in a position of executive leadership during this time in history, 
when it is important that the church renew its commitment to mission," 
Henderson said.  "Bob's unique combination of broad experience in the 
financial-services industry and love for his church makes him the ideal 
president." 
 
    Leech identified three areas he wants to focus on as Foundation leader, 
a position he described as "a new adventure" about which he has "a lot to 
learn": 
 
    First, continue improving Foundation relations with donors, churches, 
institutions and PC(USA) governing bodies such as the General Assembly 
Council (GAC).  Leech said he is encouraged by his early discussions with 
fellow church officials, and optimistic about the future. 
 
    "I think if there are disagreements then we can settle them amicably," 
he said.  "By and large I don't expect many.  There will be some, just by 
the nature of what we do." 
 
    Goal No. 2: New offices for the Foundation.  A board committee is 
studying alternatives for housing the Foundation's expanding family of 
services and a growing staff. 
 
    "There's one given," he said during an interview at the Foundation's 
headquarters in Jeffersonville, Ind.  "We've outgrown this facility, and 
it's not as (well-)equipped as we need it. Beyond that, we're going to 
explore a number of options." 
 
    He said one option is relocating the Foundation to Louisville, which is 
home to the PC(USA)'s national offices, but said discussions are 
preliminary and no decisions have been made. 
 
    The third area of focus: Operating for-profit services, namely a 
government-regulated trust company and a mutual-fund business.  Both are 
ventures the Foundation created over the past two years to offset 
increasing government regulation of non-profit fund-raising agencies. Leech 
sees these services - New Covenant Trust Co., and New Covenant Funds, as 
well as plans for an insurance company - as emerging servants of the 
Foundation that will allow it to more completely fulfill its fiduciary 
responsibility to the church and other constituents. 
 
    Leech is no stranger to the world of financial services and government 
regulation.  As president of the asset-management division of Keystone 
Financial, Inc., a $7 billion bank in Harrisburg, Pa., he was responsible 
for oversight of all investment activities, including trust, brokerage, 
mutual funds and insurance. 
 
     He has served on the sessions of five churches across the country, 
understands the workings of congregations at the local level, and is eager 
to develop a close, trust-based relationship with the church at the 
national level. 
 
    Leech is a Pennsylvania native.  He earned a bachelor's degree from 
Ursinus College, in Collegeville, Pa., and a masters degree in business 
from the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg, Va.  He is also a 
graduate of Northwestern University's National Graduate Trust School and 
its Trust Management School, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a 
Certified Financial Services Counselor, and a Certified Financial Planner. 
He and his wife have two daughters, Melanie, 24, of Boston, and Tamara, 20, 
a student at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pa. 
 
    "I'm happy I made the decision. I'm energized," Leech said.  "I've been 
very gratified by the support I've gotten and the well wishes and so forth. 
I really can see the spirit of the church coming together with the 
Foundation." 

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