August 2018 Newsletter

By now, most of you have heard of the June passing of our beloved Stan Ross.  Rather than repeating what most of you have already heard, please check the experimental Kenneth Leventhal & Company Alumni blog at https://kennethleventhal.blogspot.com/

With my upcoming retirement, we will be losing our distribution channels for this newsletter.  However, please be reminded of our alumni group online points of contact in addition to the blog, the EY Kenneth Leventhal & Company Alumni page on Facebook, which is at https://www.facebook.com/groups/58653401803/, as well as the Kenneth Leventhal alumni group on Linked In which is at https://www.linkedin.com/groups/2165469

With this fall’s closing of the Leventhal/Ross office in Century City, we’re looking for a new home for the Kenneth Leventhal & Company archives which are currently stored there.  There are perhaps a dozen boxes containing copies of KL&Co. publications, meeting binders, and other associated firm items.  If anybody has any ideas of how to rescue these items from the trash bin, please let me know.

UPDATE*****
Thanks to Jack Rodman and Mary Jo Leventhal for finding a home for the KL&Co. archives at the Leventhal School of Accounting at the University of Southern California.  

Beating me through the retirement door is Alan Gittelson, former managing partner of the Washington DC office of Kenneth Leventhal & Company, who relocated back to EY Los Angeles several years ago.  If you would like to contact Alan, you can reach him at amgittel@gmail.com or (202) 215-1790.

Brad Hall was quoted in a Los Angeles Times article on the effect that L.A. Live has had on the resurgence of downtown Los Angeles in the past decade. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-la-live-20180621-story.html   Brad has a vested interest in this revitalization, as Brad is one of the owners of Hotel Figueroa, located just steps away from L.A. Live and Staples Center.  Brad and his group spent tens of millions to convert the aging relic into an upscale boutique hotel.  As Mike Meyer recently told us, Hotel Figueroa has a special place in his heart as that was his first stop upon arriving in Los Angeles from Omaha in the 1960s–for the princely sum of $12 week.

Maria Salinas was named the first woman to serve as President and chief executive of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.  She had run her own consulting firm, Salinas Consulting  http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-chamber-ceo-maria-salinas-20180531-story.html    Maria  was named to the position after the Chamber conducted a national search.

Renata Simril spoke at the second regional Conference on how sports can help humanity, held in June at the campus of Loyola Marymount University.

Gregg Bloomberg is speaking at the upcoming Bisnow conference on “Evolution of LA’s Submarkets & The Impact of Opportunity Zones” .  Gregg has made a number of other recent speaking appearances and is Tax Partner at Cohn Reznick.

Mitch Clarfield was honored as one of the Rainmakers of 2018 by Real Estate Forum in their annual national ranking of the top producers in the real estate capital markets.  Mitch is Executive Managing Director at Berkeley Point Capital in Santa Monica and is on the Real Estate Forum list for the second year in a row.  http://www.reforum-digital.com/reforum/may_2018?pg=30#pg30

Bob Cohen continues his leadership role in the world of accounting for cannabis.  Once again he is speaking at the California CPA Society’s annual CalCPA Cannabis Symposium, and this year he is also on the planning committee for the event.  Bob is a partner at Lodgen, Lacher, Golditch, Sardi and Saunders in Encino.

Susan Carlisle, partner with Carlisle, Dorafshani, Wohl and Associates commented on the new alimony provisions of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act legislation in Financial Advisor Magazine.  https://www.fa-mag.com/news/big-tax-changes-for-alimony-payers-36746.html

Linda Hetzel Neuenburg presented “Women’s Guide to Smart Spending & Rich Living” as part of the Savvy Life series of presentations put on by First Financial Consulting.  Linda is a senior financial planner with First Financial Consulting in Pasadena.  https://firstfinancial.is/linda/

This month’s alumni headshot: Liang Wu

https://www.uglobal.com/en/profile/lwuster/

David R. Chan tackles the mystery of why Los Angeles Chinatown is the only Chinese community in North America where you cannot find authentic Sichuan style food (particularly puzzling since there are three such restaurants in downtown Iowa City, Iowa).  https://www.menuism.com/blog/los-angeles-chinatown-cantonese/

In addition, David explains in an interview on the South China Morning Post’s Goldthread 2 Chinese food website that General Tso’s chicken is not from China, as part of the larger discourse of how so-called Hunan style food made its way across the United States. 

Don’t forget that you can always contact me at chandavkl@gmail.com as well as chandavkl@chandavkl.com

Bidding Farewell To Stan Ross

On a warm Tuesday afternoon in the Hollywood Hills, we bade farewell to our partner, mentor and friend, Stan Ross, at Mt. Sinai Cemetery.  A crowd of KL partners and staff began assembling over an hour before the scheduled 12:30pm services, and despite the short notice, nearly 300 mourners attended the services.  Stan's brother-in-law, Larry Sherry, as well as Joe Rubin and Steve Shepsman flew in from the east coast, and other out-of-towners were Steve Chin and his wife, Val, who flew in from Park City UT, Skip Perry from Chicago, Peter Feinstein, and Mike Straneva.  Other faces in the crowd included Joe Knott, Jack Rodman, Marion Fong, Kevin Harrigan, John French, Alan Casden, Chris Johnston, Chris Seyfarth, Wayne Stelmar, Barry Gross, Ted Beder, Ryoko Takata, Bob Shames, Felise Wachtel, Polina Chapiro, Marisa Liu, Paul Kester, Marshall B. Cole, Dave Bornstein, Elissa Shore, Judy Isozaki, Connie Lockhart, Karen Correa, Scott Farb, Loren Borstein, Armand Pacher, Mary Streit, Ed Lubinecki, Faith Bayona, Michael Carroll, Lorrie Greenblatt, Sylbeth Stearns, Fred Chin, Greg Gotthardt, Mitch Ellner, Rob Starkman, Sara Thomas, Sheldon LaZar, Murray Drechsler, Alan Gittelson, Paul Pfeiffer, Steve Duffy, Dave Eisner, Alan Horwitz, Lisa Horwitz, Roger Johnson, Wally Little, Jim McLennan, Jim Carberry, Steve Geller, John Heywood, Jim Kasim, Perri Polanski, Kathy Muske, Mike Lucki, Bruce Molnar, and Maureen Schulz.

The one hour long service was highlighted by family presentations and a nostalgic tribute from Stan's good friend, Sheldon LaZar, followed by the burial.  Many of the mourners then went to the Ross residence in Century City for the beginning of the shiva mourning period with a spread of kosher deli items for the guests.

Stan Ross Obituary

Los Angeles Times and New York Times

After a long career as one of the country's most influential real estate accountants, teacher and mentor of college students as chairman of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, and devoted family man, Stan Ross passed away at age 82 on Sunday, June 10, 2018.

Humble beginnings:

Ross was born in 1936 in the Bronx, where he grew up and enjoyed playing basketball on public courts. In high school he found part-time work in a belt factory, and the monotonous labor of cutting belts motivated him to further his education at the City College of New York business school. Now known as Baruch College, the school teaches accounting in the Stan Ross Department of Accountancy.

Lesson from the streets: 

"I learned in the Bronx, when you walk down an alley something bad might happen; therefore you should identify at least two or three exits before you walk down it."

He recommends such a strategy of forethought in sizing up property before investing. "Can I finance it? Can I refinance it? Could I exchange it? Could I sell it? I know my options upfront."

Starting a career: 

After college and Army service, Ross answered an ad placed by Los Angeles accountant Kenneth Leventhal. The two hit it off immediately, and Ross moved his young family to the Southland in 1961 even though he didn't know yet whether he had passed the exam to become a certified public accountant. Ross did pass, of course, and he and his partner went on to build Kenneth Leventhal & Co. into the ninth-largest accounting firm in the country. Leventhal died in 2012 at age 90.

Formulating a growth strategy:

In the mid-1960s, real estate emerged as a crucial component of corporate mergers and acquisitions, and Ross began to advise some of the nation's biggest property owners and developers.

Soon, "we were identified as the most prominent firm in the real estate industry," Ross said.

Among the firm's clients were paper industry giant Boise Cascade Co., home builder Levitt & Sons and sewing machine maker Singer Co. In a mid-1970s bidding war for Irvine Co. in Orange County, Ross represented major real estate developers, including A. Alfred Taubman and Donald Bren.

Hitting a speed bump: When recession hit the country in the early 1970s, some of the mergers and other real estate deals Ross' firm had arranged started to unravel and little new merger business was on the horizon.

"Our competitors thought we wouldn't make it because we were so specialized," Ross said.

He and Leventhal pivoted the firm's focus to helping troubled companies reorganize, preferably outside Bankruptcy Court. In the 1990s, Ross moved to New York temporarily to help developer Donald Trump restructure his business.

Personal exit strategy:

In 1995, Leventhal & Co. merged with accounting giant Ernst & Young, and Ross became managing partner of the firm's real estate accounting practice and a vice chairman of the firm. He retired from Ernst & Young in 1999 but continued to work as a consultant for the reminder of his life.

The allure of academia: 

As the chairman of the USC Lusk Center since 2000, Ross has been able to propel what is now called the Ross Minority Program in Real Estate. Born in response to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, the program teaches real estate skills that graduates can use to revitalize neglected urban neighborhoods. Ross liked to help students find their strengths and strategize about their careers.

"I love teaching and mentoring kids," said Ross in 2013, who had dialed back his work schedule to five days a week.

His family remembers him as a man devoted to his wife of 61 years, Marilyn, their three daughters, twelve grandchildren, and one great grandchild.

He is survived by his wife, Marilyn, his daughters, Ellen, Alison, and Michelle and her husband Dan, his grandchildren, Mark and his wife Jessica, Jamie and her husband Chase, Joey and Ava, Destin, Lauren and her fiancé Simon, Maya, Amy, Samantha, Adam, Danny, Michael, and Brian, as well as his great grandchild Oliver Stanley.

Stan’s Advice: 

Looking back, he offers this: "Being able to reinvent yourself works — I went from accountant to consultant to merger guy to helping people restructure and reorganize. Read everything you can and stay current. I think that's critical.”

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Ross Minority Program:
USC Ross Minority Program in Real Estate
650 Childs Way, Suite 331
Los Angeles, CA 90089

LikeShow more reactions

Com

May 2018 Newsletter

Sadly we report the passing of Rosemary Bond, longtime administrative assistant with Kenneth Leventhal & Company and Ernst & Young.  Rosemary served many of us during her three decades of service and set up the first pre-computer era alumni listings for our reunions and other communications.  Loved by all, she will be sorely missed.

It was back to the future in Newport Beach as the Ernst & Young Orange County office hosted their KL/EYKL alumni reunion.  It was especially nice to see members of our Los Angeles group in attendance, including Joe Knott, Howard Lee, Gary Wescombe, Neil Schimmel, Mike Meyer, Kevin Harrigan, Susanna Jue, Jennifer Roy, Marissa Liu, Rob Starkman, Paul DeMyer, Bob Hendrickson, Chris Seyfarth, Mike Gillmore, Dave Siegel, Bruce Molnar, Barry Gross, Ed Nolan and Wayne Stelmar.  The event photographer got just this one shot of our contingent, showing Susanna, Jennifer and Marissa along with one of the paid staff.  (Click to enlarge photo.)

Chef Yealang Smith’s long 10 year odyssey to the opening of her Soul Hollywood restaurant across from the TCL Chinese Theater is chronicled in the Chef’s Roll website.  https://chefsroll.com/industry/featured-property/yealang-smith-and-the-ten-year-opening-of-soul-hollywood

Dream of sitting in on a lecture by Professor Bill Miller of the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire?  Here’s your chance.  This is Bill speaking about confronting unethical behavior in business.  https://kaltura.uwec.edu/id/1_kn2hyl6s?width=400&height=285&playerId=36875231

John Trapani, perhaps the only person in our profession specializing in tax issues relating to natural disasters, has been busily traveling the length and width of California speaking and consulting on disaster tax issues.  You can check his commentary and thought leadership ideas out at http://www.trapanicpa.com/tax-professionals-2/disaster-tax-services/

Maria Salinas was honored as one of the “Remarkable Women For Remarkable Times” at a presentation sponsored by the Women of the City Club. 

Getty Images seems to have mixed up our illustrious Jack Rodman with another Rodman more known for basketball and other accomplishments.  Makes for a very interesting collage.

https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/jack-rodman?sort=mostpopular&mediatype=photography&phrase=jack%20rodman

David R. Chan discussed the blending of regional Chinese at Chinese restaurants throughout the United States.  https://www.menuism.com/blog/blending-chinese-regional-cuisines-america/

He was also quoted by Jonathon Gold himself in Gold’s Los Angeles Times review of a new recommended Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles.

http://www.latimes.com/food/jonathan-gold/la-fo-gold-longo-seafood-restaurant-review-20180119-story.html

You can continue to reach David at chandavkl@chandavkl.com as well as chandavkl@gmail.com