From Nasdaq to NASCAR

Nasdaq President Al Berkeley,  Speedway Motorsports CEO 'Humpy' Wheeler
Will Deliver Keynote Speeches at NCCBI's 58th Annual Meeting in Raleigh

Speakers from the worlds of high finance and high octane will grace the dais at the Annual Meeting of North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry in Raleigh on March 15.

Alfred R. Berkeley III (below right), the president of the Nasdaq Stock Market for the past nearly four years, will be the luncheon speaker at the 58th Annual Meeting of NCCBI, the state's largest and most influential business group which serves as the state chamber of commerce.

Howard A. “Humpy” Wheeler (right), the president of Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte and CEO of Speedway Motorsports, a publicly-traded company that owns and operates five NASCAR tracks from North Carolina to California, will be the dinner speaker

The appearances by Berkeley and Wheeler were arranged by NCCBI Chairman Phil Phillips of High Point, the CEO of GE Capital First Factors. You may register and order your annual meeting tickets by clicking here.

Berkeley, who grew up in Charlotte and who now lives in Baltimore with his wife and three children, has presided over Nasdaq during a period of explosive growth in the technology-heavy stock exchange, which rose 84.3 percent in 1999 alone. Before joining Nasdaq, Berkeley worked for more than 20 years at Alex. Brown & Sons, lastly as a managing director and a senior banker.

It was at Alex. Brown in the 1970s that Berkeley was one of the first securities analysts in the nation to recognize the importance of the emerging software and e-commerce industries. His early research on the software industry won him a coveted Institutional Investor All-American Award.

A graduate of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Virginia, Berkeley attended school in Charlotte through the eighth grade. His mother lived in Charlotte until recently and he has other relatives living in Raleigh. After graduate school, Berkeley served as a captain in the Air Force for four years before joining Alex. Brown in 1972 as a research analyst. He became a general partner in 1983; in 1985 he was named head of Alex. Brown's Information Services division, responsible for the firm's back office and front office technology.

He was recruited for the Nasdaq job in 1996 after controversy arose over allegations that some Nasdaq dealers were engaging in a form of price fixing that increased trading costs for investors. Responding to the criticisms, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) created a blue-ribbon panel chaired by former U.S. Sen. Warren Rudman that called for separating the operation of the Nasdaq market from the NASD's regulatory functions. As a result of the reforms, Nasdaq became an operating subsidiary of NASD.

Nasdaq traces its roots to 1963, when the Securities and Exchange Commission released a study characterizing trading in the over-the-counter market as fragmented and obscure. The SEC proposed automating the OTC market and charged NASD with implementing the new system. After years of exploring what was then radically new computer technology, the first electronic stock trades occurred Feb. 8, 1971, on the completed “National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation” system, now known simply as Nasdaq.

The new market grew explosively, and in 1994 it surpassed the New York Stock Exchange in annual share volume. In 1998 NASD merged with the American Stock Exchange to form the the Nasdaq-Amex Market Group. Last October, Nasdaq began extended-day trading, with its stock reporting and quotation systems running through 6:30 p.m. eastern time.

Seventy-seven North Carolina-based publicly-traded companies are listed in Nasdaq, including two, Quintiles Transnational Corp. (QTRN) in RTP and RF Micro Devices Inc. (RFMD) in Greensboro, that are in the Nasdaq-100 Index, a list akin to the Dow Jones 30 top industrials. Other familiar North Carolina companies listed on Nasdaq are Midway Airlines, Red Hat, Triangle Pharmaceuticals, Waste Industries, Bank of Granite, Cato Corp., Coca-Cola Bottling Consolidated, First Citizens Bancshares, Ingles Markets, LADD Furniture, Lance Inc. and The Pantry. Click here to see the full list.

NCCBI Chairman Phillips said Berkeley is an especially appropriate speaker for the Annual Meeting because software and other computer-related companies are becoming a driving force in North Carolina's increasingly high-tech economy. Phillips said he asked Wheeler to speak because most business people aren't aware of how big a business NASCAR has become in North Carolina. "Most of us just haven't paid attention while NASCAR grew into the national presence it has become; it's a huge business, particularly in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties, and we ought to acknowledge that."

Wheeler, who is widely recognized for almost single-handedly driving NASCAR from the back woods to the top of the sports world, pioneered such innovations as night racing, luxury boxes at the track, on-track condominiums and a unique industrial park that consists mostly of motorsports-related firms. Among his many other accomplishments, Wheeler persuaded Hollywood to make a racing movie in Charlotte, "Days of Thunder" starring Tom Cruise. NASCAR will be evident during the day; the No. 31 Rick Childress Racing car (below) will be on display during the day, as will its driver, Mike Skinner (below). Skinner placed 10th in NASCAR earnings last with, winning about $2.5 million.


At the Annual Meeting luncheon, NCCBI will present its Citation for Distinguished Public Service to four-term Gov. Jim Hunt in recognition of his tremendous impact on the state's economic growth and improvements in education. Hunt, who has been a close ally of NCCBI for many years and who appointed NCCBI President Phil Kirk as chairman of the State Board of Education, likely will go down in history as North Carokina's most influential governor. Presenting the citation to Gov. Hunt will be Capital Broadcasting chief Jim Goodmon.

At the dinner, the Citation for Distinguished Citizenship will be presented to Bank of America Chairman and CEO Hugh L. McColl Jr., who in a 41-year career built what had been NCNB into the nation's first coast-to-coast bank with $614 billion in assets. The institution McColl built now serves one of every three families in America but it's also one that is deeply committed to civic causes and public service. The bank contributed $100 million to philanthropic causes in 1999, the largest amount of any corporation in America. McColl has chosen UNC System President Emeritus Bill Friday to present the citation.

A crowd of more than 1,000 is expected at the Raleigh Convention and Conference Center for the Annual Meeting, which generally will follow the same format as last year. The day will begin with the annual business meeting of the full board of directors, followed by the luncheon and Berkeley's address. Seminars will be held during the afternoon. The Information exchange trade show will showcase about 50 companies and organizations during the afternoon and evening.

The popular NCCBI reception will begin at 5:15 p.m. and the dinner, with Wheeler as the keynoter, will follow at 6:30.

In coming weeks NCCBI members will receive invitations and registration materials in the mail. Ticket prices will be the same for the third year in a row -- $50 for lunch and $80 for dinner, which includes the open-bar reception.