Determined to work on Wall Street, A&S alumnus Michael Butler headed for Manhattan in 1986 with $1,800 in his pocket. He had no job, no M.B.A., and minimal experience in finance. A dozen years later, he is a managing director at Lehman Brothers, a leading global investment bank.

"When you're naïve and focused, you can do wonderful things," Butler explains. "At that time, Wall Street was just starting to bloom and was attracting the best and brightest people. It really appealed to me. I enjoy a challenge."

Evidently so. Butler knocked on dozens of doors before anyone on Wall Street would even talk with him. "They kept saying, 'You don't have an M.B.A. or experience,'" recalls Butler, who earned his bachelor's degree in political science. "It was very frustrating."

But Butler persevered. Through a combination of determination and good fortune, he scored an appointment with a senior managing director at Morgan Stanley, who took a liking to him and hired him. "I was incredibly lucky," he says, still somewhat amazed years later.

Butler spent nearly a decade at Morgan Stanley, eventually becoming a principal responsible for product and risk management. He also earned an M.B.A. at Wharton School of Business, with Morgan Stanley footing the bill. But when the company merged with another large firm and tripled in size, he moved on to Lehman Brothers, where he manages global equity sales.

Always seeking new challenges, Butler is now planning to return to Seattle with his wife and two children. His long-term goal is to create a premier local finance firm. "There is a lot happening in Seattle--so much entrepreneurial activity," he explains. "The finance side has lagged behind the entrepreneurial side, and that presents a golden opportunity."

"Knowing that I'll be moving back to Seattle, I'm wanting to get more involved with the University. I see this gift as a start to that."

Butler is returning home in more ways than one. The native Seattleite, who says that going to the UW "was just a given" when he was growing up and that he never considered other colleges, has begun giving back to the University both professionally and personally. Lehman Brothers now has a recruiting program with the UW School of Business--the only major Wall Street firm with such a program--thanks to his efforts. And this year Butler contributed to the College of Arts and Sciences for the first time, with a $5,000 gift to the College Fund.

Why contribute now? "The fact that the dean of the College came to New York this year to meet with alumni was very encouraging," he says. "It was important. It made me feel more a part of the UW community. Also, knowing that I'll be moving back to Seattle, I'm wanting to get more involved with the University. I see this gift as a start to that."

Butler also recognizes the importance of supporting programs in the liberal arts. "Having a very general education--a liberal arts education--taught me how to think," he says. "It doesn't matter what you study as long as there is discourse in class and an opportunity to analyze situations and form an opinion. If you can do that, you can pick up almost any subject. My liberal arts education has really served me very well."

[Autumn 1998 - Table of Contents]