Ask anybody who is aware of him, they usually’ll inform you Andrew Meyer is the most effective, each as a enterprise supervisor and all-around good man. The Freemark Monetary co-founder has constructed a popularity for being grounded, methodical, empathetic and sort — whereas representing a few of the flashiest names in leisure, together with Jon Chu, Anna Kendrick, Adam Driver, Kathryn Hahn, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ellen Pompeo, who offered him with The Hollywood Reporter’s Enterprise Supervisor Icon award throughout a Nov. 9 digital celebration.
Meyer grew up in Monrovia, barely 30 miles from his present Beverly Hills workplace, however says, “I would as effectively have grown up 5,000 miles away as a result of there was no connection to this enterprise in any respect.”
There have been many stops on his path to launching the agency he’s run with co- founder Steves Rodriguez for practically a decade — however two of them appear particularly vital. First, shortly after Meyer began a bookkeeping job at Breslauer, Jacobson, Rutman & Chapman, Nancy Chapman left the agency to launch a enterprise of her personal alongside Terry Hen and Bonnie Gray. “They believed they may do one thing higher, they usually cut up off,” Meyer recollects. “I used to be capable of watch from floor zero how they have been capable of take these shoppers and construct a agency. I used to be intrigued by it, and that’s one thing that has stayed with me for my whole profession.” The opposite was a stint at a Westside accounting agency in 1996, the place he first met Rodriguez, his then officemate.
“Working with my greatest buddy, who occurs to be the most effective enterprise supervisor I’ve ever met, is one thing I attempt to not take as a right,” says Rodriguez. “Once we met over 25 years in the past, it was exhausting to think about we’d find yourself right here. We have now had our challenges alongside the way in which that got here with rising into one of many premier companies within the business, however I’d not change a factor concerning the journey.”
The sensation is mutual. “Steves actually believed in me, which is fantastic in a enterprise associate, particularly if you’re very early on in your profession,” says Meyer. “I used to be that bookkeeper who actually aspired to develop, and I didn’t have leisure relationships. So it was actually about constructing. You do the precise factor, you deal with individuals effectively, you present good service and also you simply hope that all of it comes collectively.”
It definitely has. Meyer credit supervisor Larry Taube of Principal Leisure as an early advocate who not solely trusted him along with his shoppers but in addition helped him forge relationships with different reps. “I’ve recognized Andrew for extra years than both of us care to confess,” says Taube, including that Meyer stands out for a number of causes: “It’s not solely his impeccable model — we’ve not often seen him out of a swimsuit currently, even on quarantine Zooms — nevertheless it’s Andrew’s integrity and honesty that’s most appreciated.”
Meyer is thought to go to nice lengths for shoppers, whether or not it’s crossing the pond for an important day or just homing in on particulars others may overlook and taking the additional time to make difficult monetary issues comprehensible. “He takes a serious weight off our shoulders,” says expertise lawyer Steve Warren, who shares a number of shoppers with Meyer. “He anticipates individuals’s wants, and he’s capable of clarify a consumer’s monetary life and their selections in a manner that’s accessible and never overwhelming.”
Provides lawyer Rick Genow, who has recognized Meyer professionally and as a buddy for greater than 15 years, “Andrew loves what he does and elevates enterprise administration to an artwork type. He doesn’t miss a element and actually cares about each consumer.”
Lee Polster, president of EOP realty, says he helped Meyer and Rodriguez discover Freemark’s first workplace. Over time, he’s labored with many of the enterprise managers on the town and says Meyer is a stand out. Says Polster, “If I had the selection of 1 individual in my skilled life that I’d need standing by my aspect in a board-room or a darkish alley, with the percentages stacked in opposition to me, Andrew Meyer could be my alternative, each time and with out hesitation.”
As for Freemark, Rodriguez says the corporate’s future “has by no means been brighter” and he’s excited for the trail forward.
So is Meyer, who lives in Little Holmby along with his spouse, Katherine, and three kids. When he seems to the long run, he sees himself and Rodriguez persevering with to construct their staff internally whereas sustaining a client-focused tradition. “We take lots of delight in that we’re a CPA agency that’s specializing in leisure enterprise administration,” says Meyer, “with a coverage of being nimble, being proactive and all the time difficult ourselves to see if there are insurance policies and procedures that needs to be modified so as to do issues higher.”
A model of this story first appeared within the Nov. 10 difficulty of The Hollywood Reporter journal. Click on right here to subscribe.
