From Butch Meily, trusted public relations strategist to Reginald Lewis, the history-making African American dealmaker, comes an eye-opening business narrative. From Manila to Wall Street tells two stories: the first includes daring corporate takeovers, an exorbitant global lifestyle, and the fatal brain tumor that claimed Lewis's life at age 50. Lewis struggled to reach the top, only to see his attempt to become the first African American-controlled company listed on the New York Stock Exchange fail and his Hamptons mansion burn to the ground. The second story is that of a young Filipino immigrant at Lewis's side. Meily reaches the highest tier of corporate public relations in New York, making a million dollars in one year. Yet, after his wife leaves him, Meily discovers that power, glory, and riches can bring loneliness and isolation. He began his relationship with Lewis as an employee and became his closest adviser and first-hand witness to the tormented, solitary man behind the image of a wildly successful takeover king.
"Butch Meily is the quintessential Bud Fox of the movie Wall Street, a brilliant and ambitious participant in the high-stakes game of the 1980s. In the process, he lost perspective of what really matters in his life. He finds redemption in serving his people hit by disasters. And so, his story continues."
-Loida Nicolas Lewis, chairman of The Reginald F. Lewis Foundation and former CEO of TLC Beatrice International
"This memoir introduces you to the world of business and big mergers. As a great literary piece, it also reflects on the true meaning and purpose of life. It is written with clarity and honesty. The reader will find his life enriched by this book."
-Richard V. Croghan, retired educator and former Associate Dean at the University of New Mexico
"Butch Meily's engaging new book, From Manila to Wall Street is a split personality lifearama, beating any MBA curriculum in learning to be a greater-than-better, visionary, trailblazing business head-also how to communicate about it. Gravitas and style can't be beat. The Reginald Lewis story beats that of almost any entrepreneur any place, anywhere."
- Ken Fisher, founder, executive chairman and co-chief investment officer of Fisher Investments.
