Full name: Steve E. Hicks
Title: President & CEO, Founder
Company: The Provident Group and The Provident Foundation
Age: 59
Hometown: Clinton, KY
Why do you do what you do?
Because, it has allowed me to be my own “boss” for over 30 years, permitted me to work with people I really like and since 1998 doing what I do has resulted in the growth of an organization unlike any other in the country that serves a mission that improves the communities we serve across the country and enhances the quality of life of the people whose lives we touch. I am having the time of my life.
What is your greatest professional accomplishment?
Leaving the active practice of law in 1998; then founding and leading The Provident Group over 7 years from a 2 person start up to become a national mission driven organization with almost $500 Million in assets, an outstanding management team and board of directors; participating for over 20 years in the formation and growth of the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority, a good organization, under the leadership of Victor Bussie, an even greater man.
What was your first job?
Soda fountain clerk at the age of 12 in 1960 at Stone & Blankenship Drugstore, Baker, La.
What is the best advice you've ever received?
I don’t have to work with people I don’t like – advice from Warren Buffett during a brief encounter with him in Omaha NE in the early 1990s. Also, the 24 Hour Rule from Rolfe McCollister Sr. – when making an important decision, once the decision is made you should reflect on it for 24 hours before acting and implementing. Problem is I have not always followed it.
Who do you most admire in the local business community and why?
John Davies, CEO, Baton Rouge Area Foundation for his entrepreneurial, passionate and selfless leadership of BRAF, a great institution, positioning BRAF as one of the nation’s first cutting edge Fourth Sector organizations.
If you could have any job other than your own, what would it be?
Rancher in western Montana
What is the greatest personal or professional obstacle you've overcome?
Having overcome them, I chose now not to dwell on them. Enjoying life, family and friends is the best revenge.
If you started over, what would you do differently?
I would have accepted the scholarship I was offered to Dartmouth College in1966 and would have left the practice of law and gone into private business when I was 35 and not 50 to begin growing equity sooner than later.
What is your prescription for life?
Follow your internal compass, find your True North in life, it will serve you, your family and friends and your business extremely well; tell your family and true friends you love them every chance you get, it will reassure them and comfort you.
What book are you currently reading?
You should never be reading just one.
The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes – a history of the Great Depression
True North by Bill George
Tough Choices, Tough Times – The Report of the New Commission On The Skills of the American Workforce – by the Commissioners of the National Center on Education and The Economy.
If you could have dinner with any three living people, who would they be? (Authors? Leaders?)
David McCullough – Author
Doris Kearns Goodwin, PhD – Author
President William J. Clinton
Who would play you in a movie?
Robert Duvall
What do you do to unwind?
Retreat to my home study with a glass of wine and plan the next course of action for Provident
What is the most expensive purchase you've made for yourself?
Various automobiles over the past 30 years.
What is your favorite weekend activity?
Dinner and wine with Linda and the small handful of couples I am blessed to have as friends.
What's your theme song?
"Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac.
What's your favorite spot in Baton Rouge?
Wherever I am when I am with Linda, my wife, my children and first grandson, Mason, soon to be 2 grandsons when Cooper joins the family in November.
How do you take your coffee/tea?
Black and strong
What is your favorite movie? TV show? Band?
Movie – Don’t have one
TV show – Any news show other than FOX
Band – The Eagles
What is your favorite gadget?
BlackBerry; Computer
What is something that you can't live without?
My family and my very few true friends
If you could change one thing about Baton Rouge, what would it be?
Practical – create the position of City-Parish Manager and hire Walter Monsour for the position for the next 10 years;
Absurd - relocate the City and many of its wonderful people to western North Carolina and manage to leave the traffic behind.
What is your greatest hope for Baton Rouge?
That the City will overcome the many obstacles to economic development and improving the quality of life of all citizens created by our pathetic public education system and lack of an educated, well trained workforce of accomplished citizens.
What is your greatest fear for Baton Rouge?
That my greatest hope will not be realized by this great City.
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