Like many people on Wall Street, Drew and Rod Fox have had some tough days at the office these past few years.
Like many people on Wall Street, Drew and Rod Fox have had some tough days at the office these past few years. But they know their worst day is nothing compared to the work of people in the armed services and, especially, the Navy SEALs.
The Fox brothers are among a large community on Wall Street that has embraced fund-raising for veterans causes. Drew Fox, 42 years old, is a managing director of Logan Circle Partners, a division of Fortress Investment Group LLC, a private equity and hedge fund. Rod Fox, 48, is chief executive of TigerRisk Partners, a reinsurance broker.
Drew Fox says that a big ethos on Wall Street over the past three to four years is the idea that you can give by going or go by giving. “You can give to the United States by actually serving, or you can serve those who serve by donating,” says Drew Fox. “That’s been picked up by the private sector and you’re seeing that in terms of employment and you’re seeing that in terms of support of nonprofits that support these causes.
“In the past five years, the brothers have given and helped to raise more than $1 million for the Navy SEAL Foundation based in Virginia Beach, Va. The two were honored at the foundation’s fifth annual gala in New York last Thursday night and, at the event, the brothers were celebrated with a military tradition: a buzz cut. Their association with the foundation began some five years ago and grew out of Rod Fox’s efforts to hire SEALs. “I was looking for an organization that was the best team, high-performance organization on the planet. And I’d always thought highly of the SEALs,” says Rod Fox. “We started using them in our business 10 or 15 years ago.” He adds that the SEALs he’s worked with are “very humble and have an incredible will to compete and to win that’s beyond most other humans I’ve worked with or encountered.“ Drew Fox says that Fortress Investment Group employs some 40 veterans and he works closely with a handful of SEALs through various trading businesses. “On the Street they are everywhere,” he says.The Navy SEAL Foundation provides immediate and continuing support to families and members of the Naval Special Warfare community. That includes financial support for funeral and memorial services, grief counseling, financial planning and legal support. The foundation also provides scholarships for active duty soldiers, spouses and children.
The organization reports that from Sept. 11, 2001, to August 2011, 59 Navy SEALs and support personnel have been killed during combat operations and training.
“These are people who are incredible patriots. When you’re around them and in their midst they’re just incredible,” says Rod Fox. “When tragedy does strike, if you look at what happens in the military, there’s not much left there for the families.”
