Name: Adam Greene
Leadership Charlotte (LC) Class: Class 31 (Best Class Ever)
Title/Company: Partner, McGuireWoods LLP
Hometown: Columbia, SC
Education: University of Virginia, B.A. (2000); University of Virginia, J.D (2005)
Current personal or leadership goals: Be the best dad I can be, help those who are less fortunate (especially through affordable housing), and exercise at least 4 times a week.
How did your Leadership Charlotte experience affect what you’re doing today?
I became a much better listener during my Leadership Charlotte experience as I sought to truly hear and internalize others’ perspectives so that I could appreciate “where they were coming from” and how that foundation could lead us to form a bond despite our differences. I know that ability to listen (to my clients and their counterparties and counsel) makes me a better lawyer than I would have been without that experience.
Greatest personal accomplishment and why:
Traveling around the world by myself at age 21 with a backpack (and no headphones). I would not trade that year of my life for anything and I know that not allowing myself to shut out what was going on around me led me to experience some amazing things (e.g., bartending at the Sydney Olympics, rafting the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe, diving with a school of hammerhead sharks in the Galapagos and being invited to family dinners in Israel and the West Bank).
How has your life after Leadership Charlotte surprised you and why?
If you would have told me that I would meet my current boss (Raj Natarajan LC 31)when we were randomly assigned to room together at the opening retreat, I would never have believed you, but we laughed all night and became good friends (and eventually colleagues).
Favorite way to spend a weekend in Charlotte:
Going to a pool or quarry with my boys (ages 6 and 10), playing golf with friends, and biking around Plaza Midwood.
What would you like to see Leadership Charlotte alumni get involved in and why?
Affordable housing…the pandemic has really shown us just how vulnerable so many families are and providing affordable housing is absolutely essential for any community to prosper.