Jim Neal
Encyclopedia
James Weatherly "Jim" Neal, Jr. (born 1956) is a North Carolina
Democrat and a business executive and investment banker who was a candidate in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in 2008 (for the seat occupied at the time by Republican Elizabeth Dole
). He is originally from Greensboro, North Carolina
, and currently lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
.
on November 6, 1956. Neal was named after his paternal great-grandfather, James Milton "Daddy Jim" Weatherly, a tobacco farmer who served as the Superintendent of the Rockingham County Department of Highways in the early 20th century. He attended Walter Hines Page High School
(Greensboro, NC) in the early 1970s. His parents never graduated from college and Neal was the first member of his family to do so, in 1978, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
, where he earned a B.S. from the Kenan-Flagler School of Business. After graduating from UNC, he worked as a financial analyst for Goldman Sachs
, and later obtained a masters degree in finance from the University of Chicago
in 1983.
as a financial analyst. He returned to school at the University of Chicago
, where he earned a MBA in Finance while working a series of part-time jobs to pay his way through school. As an investment banker at Salomon Brothers
, he earned a reputation for leadership and innovative strategies while advising Fortune 500
companies on how to play successful roles in a changing global economy. He also was a managing director at Piper Jaffray where he was co-head of the life sciences investment banking group based in San Francisco.
Neal worked as a senior investment banker with E.F. Hutton and Bear Stearns
, serving clients that ranged from Bank of America
and American Express
to Lincoln National Corporation
and Transamerica
.
For the past two decades, Neal has focused his career on information technology and healthcare companies, including serving as CEO
of RxMarketplace.com, a start-up firm that helped pharmacist
s offer patients prescription drugs at more affordable prices.
Since 2000, Neal has led several private companies prior to founding The Agema Group LLC, a financial advisory firm based in Chapel Hill.
campaign for Congress and the 1972 Skipper Bowles
campaign for Governor. As a young man, he was a grassroots volunteer with the presidential campaigns of both Jimmy Carter
and Bill Clinton
. In 2004, Neal served as a member of the National Campaign Finance Committees of presidential candidates Wesley Clark
and John Kerry
and also assisted NC Democratic US Senate candidate Erskine Bowles
in his second attempt to capture a Senate seat.
In the 2008 Democratic primary, Neal faced state Senator Kay Hagan of Greensboro, podiatrist Howard Staley
of Moncure, Lexington trucker Duskin Lassiter and Lumberton attorney Marcus Williams
. Neal earned the endorsement of the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg: Chairman Dwayne Collins said, “The membership of the Black Political Caucus is proud to support Mr. Neal with our endorsement in the U.S. Senate race. We thought Jim is the ideal candidate to defeat Elizabeth Dole, and that is why we are behind his candidacy. He was the best candidate on the issues that affect all citizens, but especially members of the African American
community. We look forward to working with Jim Neal to improve the lives of the human family of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County
.” He also was endorsed by Blue America PAC, eQualityGiving, the Independent Weekly
and YES ! Weekly. Neal finished second in the May 6, 2008 primary, and the victor Kay Hagan went on to defeat Senator Elizabeth Dole
in the November 2008 general election. Hagan defeated Neal with 60% of the vote to his 18%, although Neal carried two counties in western North Carolina.
On June 2nd, 2011, Neal was arrested for entering the North Carolina State House chambers after having spoken at a rally in opposition to a proposed state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and benefit rights . Neal said that he was protesting the state GOP-controlled Legislature's "frontal assault on our education system, mental and public health systems, our environment, women's access to reproductive healthcare and the social compact that once supported a strong middle class."
with the younger of his two sons, Winston; the older, James, is currently working in New York City
. The divorced Neal is gay, but declared that it would not hurt his chances for securing the Democratic nomination in the U.S. Senate race. "[It's] no secret and no big deal to me — I wouldn't be running if I didn't think otherwise."
Neal’s late parents, James Weatherly and Mildred Hartzoge Neal, were lifelong residents of North Carolina. His grandparents- a carpenter, an elementary school teacher and two mill workers—influenced him. His many aunts, uncles and cousins reside across all corners of the state.
Neal has continued his active involvement in nonprofit groups and political initiatives, as a member of the Board of Governors of The New School
from 2002 to 2006, he also served as a national finance committee member for Wes Clark for President and the Kerry-Edwards campaigns, as well as acting as a national fundraiser for U.S. Senate candidate Erskine Bowles in 2004.
Neal has served his community as an overnight volunteer at a homeless shelter
, a lay minister to mentally ill residents of an assisted-care facility, and a sponsor of a post-war Vietnam
ese refugee
family in alliance with the International Rescue Committee
.He is a member of the Advisory Board of The NC Justice Center's Policy Watch and Democracy North Carolina as well as a contributor to The Huffington Post.
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
Democrat and a business executive and investment banker who was a candidate in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in 2008 (for the seat occupied at the time by Republican Elizabeth Dole
Elizabeth Dole
Mary Elizabeth Alexander Hanford "Liddy" Dole is an American politician who served in both the Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush presidential administrations, as well as a United States Senator....
). He is originally from Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
, and currently lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
.
Early life and education
Jim Neal was born in Greensboro, North CarolinaGreensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
on November 6, 1956. Neal was named after his paternal great-grandfather, James Milton "Daddy Jim" Weatherly, a tobacco farmer who served as the Superintendent of the Rockingham County Department of Highways in the early 20th century. He attended Walter Hines Page High School
Walter Hines Page High School
Walter Hines Page Senior High School is a public secondary school in Greensboro, North Carolina commonly referred to as Page High School or simply Page. It runs on a traditional type schedule with the hours from 8:55-3:55...
(Greensboro, NC) in the early 1970s. His parents never graduated from college and Neal was the first member of his family to do so, in 1978, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
, where he earned a B.S. from the Kenan-Flagler School of Business. After graduating from UNC, he worked as a financial analyst for Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
, and later obtained a masters degree in finance from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1983.
Career
Following graduation from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1978, Neal joined Goldman SachsGoldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
as a financial analyst. He returned to school at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, where he earned a MBA in Finance while working a series of part-time jobs to pay his way through school. As an investment banker at Salomon Brothers
Salomon Brothers
Salomon Brothers was a bulge bracket, Wall Street investment bank. Founded in 1910 by three brothers along with a clerk named Ben Levy, it remained a partnership until the early 1980s, when it was acquired by the commodity trading firm Phibro Corporation and then became Salomon Inc. Eventually...
, he earned a reputation for leadership and innovative strategies while advising Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
companies on how to play successful roles in a changing global economy. He also was a managing director at Piper Jaffray where he was co-head of the life sciences investment banking group based in San Francisco.
Neal worked as a senior investment banker with E.F. Hutton and Bear Stearns
Bear Stearns
The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. based in New York City, was a global investment bank and securities trading and brokerage, until its sale to JPMorgan Chase in 2008 during the global financial crisis and recession...
, serving clients that ranged from Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
and American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
to Lincoln National Corporation
Lincoln National Corporation
Lincoln National Corporation is a Fortune 200 American holding company, which operates multiple insurance and investment management businesses through subsidiary companies...
and Transamerica
Transamerica
Transamerica or Transamerican may refer to:*Transamerica Corporation**The Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco*TransAmerica , a railroad boardgame*Transamerica , a 2005 film**Transamerica...
.
For the past two decades, Neal has focused his career on information technology and healthcare companies, including serving as CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of RxMarketplace.com, a start-up firm that helped pharmacist
Pharmacist
Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...
s offer patients prescription drugs at more affordable prices.
Since 2000, Neal has led several private companies prior to founding The Agema Group LLC, a financial advisory firm based in Chapel Hill.
Political involvement
The 2008 campaign for United States Senate was Jim Neal's first attempt at elective office. He has, however, been involved in politics for many years. Neal worked as a volunteer as a youth for Lyndon Johnson's 1964 presidential campaign, the 1968 Judge L. Richardson PreyerL. Richardson Preyer
Lunsford Richardson Preyer , who typically went by 'Richardson' or 'Rich,' was a jurist and a U.S. representative in Congress from North Carolina. He was the grandson of inventor Lunsford Richardson...
campaign for Congress and the 1972 Skipper Bowles
Skipper Bowles
Hargrove "Skipper" Bowles, Jr. was an influential Democratic politician and businessman, based in Greensboro, North Carolina....
campaign for Governor. As a young man, he was a grassroots volunteer with the presidential campaigns of both Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
and Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. In 2004, Neal served as a member of the National Campaign Finance Committees of presidential candidates Wesley Clark
Wesley Clark
Wesley Kanne Clark, Sr., is a retired general of the United States Army. Graduating as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point, he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford where he obtained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and later graduated from the...
and John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
and also assisted NC Democratic US Senate candidate Erskine Bowles
Erskine Bowles
Erskine Boyce Bowles is an American businessman and political figure from North Carolina. He served from 2005 to 2010 as the President of the University of North Carolina system...
in his second attempt to capture a Senate seat.
In the 2008 Democratic primary, Neal faced state Senator Kay Hagan of Greensboro, podiatrist Howard Staley
Howard Staley
Howard Staley, is a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine [D.P.M.] and Surgery and a Chatham County, North Carolina Democrat, who announced on January 17, 2008 that he would join the race for United States Senate in North Carolina to challenge Republican U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole. Dr. Staley was one of...
of Moncure, Lexington trucker Duskin Lassiter and Lumberton attorney Marcus Williams
Marcus Williams
Marcus Williams may refer to:*Marcus Williams , former UConn Huskies guard, played for the New Jersey Nets, Golden State Warriors, and Memphis Grizzlies...
. Neal earned the endorsement of the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg: Chairman Dwayne Collins said, “The membership of the Black Political Caucus is proud to support Mr. Neal with our endorsement in the U.S. Senate race. We thought Jim is the ideal candidate to defeat Elizabeth Dole, and that is why we are behind his candidacy. He was the best candidate on the issues that affect all citizens, but especially members of the African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
community. We look forward to working with Jim Neal to improve the lives of the human family of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
-Air:The county's primary commercial aviation airport is Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte.- Intercity rail :With twenty-five freight trains a day, Mecklenburg is a freight railroad transportation center, largely due to its place on the NS main line between Washington and Atlanta...
.” He also was endorsed by Blue America PAC, eQualityGiving, the Independent Weekly
Independent Weekly
The Independent Weekly is a tabloid-format alternative weekly newspaper published in Durham, North Carolina, United States and distributed throughout the Research Triangle area and counties .The Independent is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and has a...
and YES ! Weekly. Neal finished second in the May 6, 2008 primary, and the victor Kay Hagan went on to defeat Senator Elizabeth Dole
Elizabeth Dole
Mary Elizabeth Alexander Hanford "Liddy" Dole is an American politician who served in both the Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush presidential administrations, as well as a United States Senator....
in the November 2008 general election. Hagan defeated Neal with 60% of the vote to his 18%, although Neal carried two counties in western North Carolina.
On June 2nd, 2011, Neal was arrested for entering the North Carolina State House chambers after having spoken at a rally in opposition to a proposed state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and benefit rights . Neal said that he was protesting the state GOP-controlled Legislature's "frontal assault on our education system, mental and public health systems, our environment, women's access to reproductive healthcare and the social compact that once supported a strong middle class."
Personal life
Neal lives in Chapel HillChapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
with the younger of his two sons, Winston; the older, James, is currently working in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The divorced Neal is gay, but declared that it would not hurt his chances for securing the Democratic nomination in the U.S. Senate race. "[It's] no secret and no big deal to me — I wouldn't be running if I didn't think otherwise."
Neal’s late parents, James Weatherly and Mildred Hartzoge Neal, were lifelong residents of North Carolina. His grandparents- a carpenter, an elementary school teacher and two mill workers—influenced him. His many aunts, uncles and cousins reside across all corners of the state.
Neal has continued his active involvement in nonprofit groups and political initiatives, as a member of the Board of Governors of The New School
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
from 2002 to 2006, he also served as a national finance committee member for Wes Clark for President and the Kerry-Edwards campaigns, as well as acting as a national fundraiser for U.S. Senate candidate Erskine Bowles in 2004.
Neal has served his community as an overnight volunteer at a homeless shelter
Homeless shelter
Homeless shelters are temporary residences for homeless people which seek to protect vulnerable populations from the often devastating effects of homelessness while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact on the community...
, a lay minister to mentally ill residents of an assisted-care facility, and a sponsor of a post-war Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
family in alliance with the International Rescue Committee
International Rescue Committee
The International Rescue Committee is a leading nonsectarian, nongovernmental international relief and development organization based in the United States, with operations in over 40 countries...
.He is a member of the Advisory Board of The NC Justice Center's Policy Watch and Democracy North Carolina as well as a contributor to The Huffington Post.