To: Phil Langford ([email protected])
Dear Phil,
I want to thank you—not just for encouraging us to celebrate this week but for being a steady presence these past few years. You lead with conviction, and you bring out the best in your teams. I’ve never told you how close I came to never meeting you. How I almost threw away my shot.
I was waiting for our appointment when my phone rang. My mother’s thin voice carried the words I couldn’t comprehend—Dad was gone. I told her I’d come right away. Nothing else mattered.
Then I saw you, striding into the room. I didn’t want to talk about you, your company, or any job. I wanted to talk to my father—the man who carved the Thanksgiving turkey doing his best Swedish Chef impression.
But leaving meant surrendering to the truth. If I stepped out that door, my mother’s words would harden into reality. A world without my dad would begin. I wasn’t ready.
You smiled as you saw me. I don’t know what my face did in response, but instead of greeting me, you pulled out your phone and scowled—not in frustration, but something deeper. Something that nearly uncoiled the knot inside me.
Gripping your phone in one hand, you extended the other. “Good of you to come, Meredith. I just need thirty seconds to talk to my wife.” Your eyes glistened.
I nodded, swallowing hard against the burn in my throat.
To keep from unraveling, I did what I do best—I analyzed. I searched my memory for what I knew about your family. First, she was an ex-wife, and in an industry that trades up trophies, you’d never remarried. Second, a grainy newspaper photo surfaced in my mind: you, your wife, and Annabelle in front of a towering Christmas tree. Tiny Annabelle, in a frilly dress, perched on your lap—not your wife’s. Your arm draped over the back of her chair, her hand wrapped around your knee. A twenty-six-year-old article—part news story, part eulogy. But how do you eulogize a toddler?
You sniffed slightly, tucking your phone away. Then you turned to me and said something I’ll never forget.
Do you remember?
[DRAFT]
From: Meredith Hansel (Meredith.Hansel@?garmanstraub.com)
To: Phil Langford ([email protected])
Dear Phil,
Thank you for supporting the celebration of the funds today. When we planned the launch of our ETFs, we were in a blue ocean of opportunity. Now we race ahead in a very different environment. The sharks are coming. Our water is turning bloody. Many are coming after us for the piece of the market we represent. We need to control our costs and ensure we have a path for fee modulation that protects us from being priced out of the market
[DRAFT]
From: Meredith Hansel (Meredith.Hansel@?garmanstraub.com)
To: Phil Langford ([email protected])
Dear Phil,
Thanks again for this week. It’s come to my attention that there are aspects of the funds I designed and launched that I’m not fully read in on. Specifically in the area of securities lending. I am starting a task force to look into all aspects of the funds. Please advise if
[DRAFT]
From: Meredith Hansel (Meredith.Hansel@?garmanstraub.com)
To: Phil Langford ([email protected])
Dear Phil,
Betsey is coming after our contracts, and I have reason to believe the investment data is real. None of this is good
[SENT]
From: Meredith Hansel (Meredith.Hansel@?garmanstraub.com)
To: Phil Langford ([email protected])
