As I was watching the 9/11 ceremony this morning, one name triggered significant memories for me.
Dean Eberling.
In the late 90s I was the IT Director for Putnam Lovell.
One day our CEO Don Putnam came to me and said we had a high-profile team joining us.
It’s common for high-profile people to travel in teams when they switch firms.
Dean Eberling was a highly-regarded securities analyst on Wall Street.
He was a frequent guest on CNBC.
At an all-hands company meeting, Dean introduced his team.
In his presentation he detailed how his team works.
Everyone had clear roles and every role had a clear backup.
It was a well-oiled machine.
Dean kept circling around to one phrase…
”If anything happens to me my team will not miss a beat”
He circled back to that theme at least four times in his presentation.
I was wondering if Dean had health problems or something that would prevent him from working.
It was like Dean had premonitions that his life would be cut short.
On 9/11 the answer came to me.
Dean and his team were working in the South Tower when the planes hit.
Like the captain of his ship, he made sure all of his team was safely evacuated before he left the building.
As he was riding down the elevator, the cable snapped.
The elevator plummeted until the brakes kicked in.
Lauren Smith, one of Dean's team and a former co-worker of mine told me Dean was a hero.
The door would only open a crack so Dean helped push her through the small opening, breaking her ribs but she safely evacuated.
As the firemen started cutting the doors open, the building collapsed, ending Dean’s life.
It sent shivers down my spine when I heard Dean passed.
He knew something was coming…
Enjoy every day because you never know.
Ted
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