The Center for Spiritual Capital was founded in spring of 2010 by director Nicholas Capaldi and founding partners Alan Arnold, Alden J. "Doc" Laborde, and John B. Levert, Jr.
Meet the Founders
Alan Arnold
Alan Arnold was educated at Jesuit High School and Loyola University New Orleans. He served two year active duty as a Lt. in the Army Field Artillery before starting his career at joined Howard Weil, Labouisse, Friedrichs & Co. In 1976, he was named executive vice president and assumed broader management responsibilities leading to selection as president of the firm in 1985. In 1987 Howard Weil merged with Legg Mason headquatered in Baltimore. Mr Arnold served on its board until 1990 when he resigned to form Arnold & Co. Inc. The firm assisted non-profits in the acquisition of apartment properties from the burgeoning inventory of the RTC. In the advisory process, he created a small investment group and acted as its principal investor and managing partner. He created Midsouth Realty Management Inc. to act as GP and eventually assumed the property management responsibility for each property. With the success of the property acquisition strategy and other investments, his consulting activities have gradually reverted to pro bono services for non-profits, principally the Archdiocese of New Orleans. In 2009 Mr Arnold was appointed to the Board of Liquidation of the City of New Orleans.
John B Levert, Jr.
John B Levert, Jr., is an Emeritus member of the Loyola University New Orleans Board of Trustees and the retired chief executive officer of Howard Weil Labouisse Fredrichs, Inc., a premier energy investment bank. He joined the firm in 1970, was elected president in 1975, and was appointed chairman and CEO in 1977. Currently, Levert serves as president of Tripp Corporation, United Lands Company, Inc., and as a director of Evangeline Farms, Inc., which owns and breeds Paso Fino horses. Prior to joining Howard Weil, Levert was the executive vice president of Metal Building Products in Harvey, Louisiana, from 1958 until 1970, and a salesman for Carl E. Woodward Construction Company from 1956 until 1958. He also served as a first lieutenant in the United States Army from 1954 until 1956. Levert attended the University of Virginia and received his bachelor of arts degree from Tulane University in 1954. An active member of the New Orleans business community, Levert has been affiliated with many organizations. He has been the president of the United Way, and on the board of the Public Affairs Research Council, the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce's Business Council, the Business Task Force on Education and the Executive Committee, and a member of the Economic Development Committee of the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce. In addition, he has also served as the governor of the National Association of Securities Dealers, a director of First City Bank, an executive committee member of the Security Industry Association, a past vice chair of the National Business Conduct Committee, vice chair of the board for finance, and the general chair for the 19th Annual Archbishop's Community Appeal. Levert is the recipient of the Papal Knight of St. Gregory Award in 1989 and the Humanitarian Award from the Arthritis Foundation in 1989. Levert has had a long and dedicated involvement with Loyola University New Orleans including serving as a pre-steering committee member, master of ceremonies for the 1990 Benefactor's Dinner, and an international business adviser for the Joseph A. Butt, S.J., College of Business. He is a member of Loyola's Heritage Society and the Society of St. Ignatius. Levert was on the Loyola University New Orleans Board of Trustees from 1989 until 1997, serving as chair from 1992 until 1996. In 1998, he was named an honorary trustee. He continues to be an active member and benefactor of the university.
Alden J. "Doc" Laborde
Alden J. "Doc" Laborde, principled businessman and founder of Tidewater, Inc., grew up in Marksville, LA, where life centered on family, school, and the local Catholic church. He was offered an appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis and graduated from there in 1938 in the top 15% of his class. During World War II, he was assigned to sea duty, commanding three combat vessels, and later retired from active service in 1946 with the rank of Commander. As a civilian, Laborde decided to try his luck in the fledgling oil industry in Louisina, working his way up from roustabout to marine superintendent at Kerr-McGee Oil Company. Following his entrepreneurial instincts, he resigned from Kerr-McGee to pursue an innovative mobile drilling rig concept that he believed would be more efficient than the traditional piling platform rig. With Murphy Oil as an investment partner, Laborde founded Ocean Drilling and Exploration Company [ODECO] to develop his idea. As the offshore drilling industry grew, so did the demand for support vessels to service the rigs, and Laborde once again developed an innovative conceptual improvement, this time to the traditional service vessel design. Assembling a group of 10 friends to finance and build the first vessel following his new design, Laborde founded Tidewater Marine Service, Inc., in 1956. Laborde called on his brother John to take over Tidewater and under his management the company grew and prospered to the point where today it is the largest owner and operator of service and supply vessels in the world. Following his retirement at age 61, Laborde served on boards both public and private, and in numerous capacities for philanthropic and educational institutions and particularly for the Catholic Church. In 1985, at age 70, Laborde was inducted into the United State Business Hall of Fame. In his induction, it was noted that he was among the very few businesspeople who had founded two New York Stock Exchange listed firms. At 94 years old, Laborde still drives to the office every day to check stock reports, catch up on the Wall Street Journal, and oversee the daily business of his current project, the All Aboard Development Company.
Nicholas Capaldi
Nicholas Capaldi is Legendre-Soulé Distinguished Chair in Business Ethics at Loyola University New Orleans. He also serves as Director of the Center for Spiritual Capital. He taught previously at the University of Tulsa where he was McFarlin Research Professor of Law, as well as Columbia University, Queens College City University of New York, The United States Military Academy at West Point, and the National University of Singapore. Professor Capaldi received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and his Ph.D. from Columbia University. His principal research and teaching interest is in public policy and its intersection with political science, philosophy, law, religion, and economics. He is the author of 7 books, over 80 articles, and editor of six anthologies. He is a member of the editorial board of six journals and has served most recently as editor of Public Affairs Quarterly. Professor Capaldi is the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, The Mellon Foundation, The U.S. Department of Education, The Board of Regents of Louisiana, and the John Templeton Foundation among others. He is an internationally recognized scholar and a domestic public policy specialist on such issues as higher education, bio- ethics, business ethics, affirmative action, and immigration.