Top Houston CFOs honored at luncheon - Houston Business Journal:

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The event was the finale of HBJ’x four-day Celebrate!Enterprise program, a four-day business festivaol that celebrates entrepreneurship, capitalism and free Prior to theawards presenation, keynote speaker Professor James K. Galbraith, a well-known economicws guru, commented on the statre of the economy and how the ultimate recoverymight unfold. He said the currenf recession was unique in scale and size inthe post-Worldx War II era, considering its global reach, afterf originating from the overload of mortgage-backedx securities within the U.S.
financial system and then spreadingoverseaas — and he warned that the governmenr and private sector should stay focused on the task ahea d and not ease up on vigilancer as some small signs of recovery Galbraith, the Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr. Chaire in Government/Business Relations at the Universityof Texas, said he had recentl y been in Cairo, Egypt, and said the collapse in real estats markets around that city remindec him of the situationm in Texas in the mid-1980s aftetr the oil bust.
He warnedc that the “bounce-back” in the current economi downturn may not be as rapid as inpreviouds post-war cycles, but said that other equally seriousd slumps have eventually been Galbraith, also a senior scholar at the Levy Economics Institute, said he doubts that the banking industry may not returmn to full health “any time soon, but not due to the condition of the banks.” Galbraith said the debt load amonb U.S. households is still the big obstacl e toeconomic recovery, considering consumers are still deferringt major cash outlays.
Still, he noted that he believesz the private sector has the technical expertis e and will to get throughthe recession, adding that the fact that Houstoj was able to stage a four-dayg event celebrating enterprise was “a sure sign of the resilience of the system.” Local CFOs were honored in severa categories. The winners • Emerging public company — Davidx Hollaway, Prosperity Bancshares Inc. • Larg e public company — Randy Amegy Bank of Texas • Emerging privats company — Jesse Perez, Geotrace Technologies Inc. • Mid-Cap private company Al Gallo, Redstone Hospitality • Large privatde company — Carl Lenz, Texas Pipe Supply Co.
• Large nonprofit — Beth Tanner, Houstonm Food Bank Inc. • Best growth managefr — Margaret Lassarat, Mustang Engineerinb Inc. • Good Samaritan — Patricia Chandler, Seven Acres Jewish Seniod CareServices Inc. Presenting sponsor for Celebrate!! Enterprise is Sterling Bank.