Name: Bill Staton, MBA, CFA
Leadership Charlotte (LC) Class: 1
Title/Company: Senior Director & Chief Optimist, Novare Capital Management
Hometown: Bethel, NC
Education: Kenan-Flagler Business School, UNC Chapel Hill, 1969; MBA-Finance, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 1971
Current personal or leadership goals: To help every organization I’m involved with become better and do more good.
If you could describe your Leadership Charlotte experience in three words or phrases what would they be? Loved being a Pioneer; Met future leaders; Helped design its course
What advice would you give to current Leadership Charlotte participants? Attend every session. Get to know everyone in your group. Ask lots of questions. Listen intently. Find places to use your talents.
What would you like to see Leadership Charlotte alumni get involved in and why? Give back to the organization every way possible. After graduation I was part of a group that set high standards for future entry. Have older alum like me serve as advisors/mentors. I’d be happy to do so!
Favorite way to spend a weekend in Charlotte: My wife Mary (LC9) and I have a beautiful home and enjoy relaxing there. We’re also involved in many community activities. I especially enjoy walking our dog Bianca twice per day. I get some of my most creative ideas this way.
Greatest personal accomplishment and why: I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in late 2009. Any treatment probably meant I’d have to wear a diaper the rest of my life, so I decided to get over it naturally. Cancer thrives on sugar and carbohydrates. I gave up drinking. Went on a very low-carb (ketogenic) diet, got over the cancer in three months, and eventually lost almost 50 pounds, which I’ve kept off. Found my current doctor in the process who discovered I was high risk for a stroke. Mary, my wife, and I learned to meditate, and my stroke risk today is very low. I took zero drugs for either the cancer or stroke. How about that!
What’re you doing in the community these days? I’ve been teaching investing to a class at Charlotte Country Day one day per semester since 1987. I taught at the County Jail for six years until they moved the group of men I could work with way out near UNCC and it became difficult to continue. As you know I’ve just volunteered to go active with Leadership Charlotte.