Members in the News
Babb about Town
08:28 AM CST on Sunday, November 25, 2007
By Cheryl Hall, Dallas Morning News
Ralph Babb is going from newcomer to business insider at the speed of light.
Since the 58-year-old chairman and chief executive of Comerica Inc. officially landed in Dallas in July, his daily schedule has included a streak of civic events, speaking engagements, social soirées and tête-à-têtes.
When Mr. Babb recently flipped the switch to ceremoniously add "Comerica" to the Dallas' nighttime skyline, he signaled that the $60 billion financial institution – now Texas' biggest – hasn't just arrived from Detroit. It's staying here.
Once downtown was the seat of power for major Dallas bank holding companies. By 1989, there wasn't a single local bank of significance left standing.
So it's no wonder that Mr. Babb is the man about town, weaving his way into the community fabric. His official résumé already includes his membership in the Dallas Citizens Council.
Last week, Comerica signed on as title sponsor of the New Year's Parade to be held Dec. 31 in conjunction with the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic. The Comerica Bank New Year's Parade, "Celebrate Downtown," will start at the Comerica Bank Tower at 1717 Main St. and make its way to American Airlines Center.
"There's no better way to celebrate our new headquarters than with a parade through the streets of downtown Dallas," says Mr. Babb, who never really considered planting Comerica anywhere but downtown.
In a city where contacts are status symbols, Ralph Babb's cellphone number ranks up there with Platinum AAdvantage.
How many people have asked him for it?
"A lot," he says, sounding astonished. "And they have it. And I have theirs. It's one of those Dallas things. They tell me to call anytime for anything. And they mean it."
He expected people to be friendly here but has been stunned by how ingrained it is – not just from businesspeople but practically everyone he comes across. And that's been the overwhelming reaction he's heard from all the Detroit transplants.
"I thought I was pretty friendly," Mr. Babb says. "But now when I jog, I wave to everyone who goes by because everybody waves to me."
No starch
Shortly after he was promoted to Comerica's top spot in 2002, Mr. Babb was described as a "no-starch banker" by the Detroit Regional Chamber's magazine.
I gotta tell you his shirts seem pretty stiff to me. But his demeanor is not. His life is tightly scheduled, but when he's with you, he gives the impression that he has all the time in the world.
Dallas' early assessment of Mr. Babb is short, sweet and fairly universal.
"He's not flashy, but he's solid as a rock," says Dallas attorney Mike Baggett, the chairman emeritus of Winstead PC who acted as a secret agent in getting the company to move here.
"Everybody who meets him thinks he's just a great guy," says Roger Staubach, who helped negotiate Comerica's headquarters lease in the former Bank One Center on Main Street.
This Dallas warmth is a lot easier on him than the Detroit heat that Mr. Babb took when he announced Comerica was moving out after 158 years in Motor City. The loss of the financial services giant, whose name is on the Detroit Tigers' ballpark, was a devastating blow on both business and civic fronts.
Mr. Babb isn't about to trash the company's former hometown. Michigan still accounts for nearly half of Comerica's net income.
But there is no doubt that he sees the Lone Star State as Comerica's hub of the future. For one thing, executives can get from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to its other key markets of California, Arizona, Florida and, yes, Michigan, in less than three hours.
"If you look at the Census Bureau projections for what's going to happen with population growth, Texas is going to be one of three states where 30 percent of the population will be by 2030," he says. "And two-thirds of the population is going to be in the South."
Middle-market guys
Comerica's homesteading events haven't included the predictable guest lists of who's who in Dallas. The bulk of the guests at such things as a reception at Ghostbar atop the W Hotel have been middle-market business customers – Comerica's lifeblood.
That's partly because Mr. Babb has a pathfinder. Chuck Gummer, president of Comerica Bank-Texas Market, has been successfully plying this market for two decades.
Some wonder how Mr. Gummer felt when his boss invaded his turf. If Mr. Gummer minds, he isn't saying so.
"We're seeing the new group pitching in, making a lot of calls, joining a lot of organizations, helping us grow the company even faster in Texas than we already were," Mr. Gummer says. "It's been a great meshing of people."
Right off the bat, Mr. Babb and Mr. Gummer co-announced that Comerica Bank would be the presenting sponsor of the Dallas Summer Musicals Inc. for the next four years.
"It's important to be involved in the arts," Mr. Babb says. "It's important to be involved in sports. It's important to be involved in those organizations that support the community and those less fortunate. That's a very important part of our culture."
Tone from the top
Mr. Babb isn't a Comerica lifer. He joined the company as chief financial officer in 1995 after 25 years in St. Louis.
"Ralph sets a very strong tone from the top," says Jon Bilstrom, executive vice president and Comerica's general counsel. "He's the light that we all look to. We always strive to do the very best in the proper and correct course."
We can take a bit of Texas pride in his success.
Ralph Wheeler Babb Jr. is a native Texan born in Sherman – even though the 6-foot-1er didn't get to stick around long enough to grow tall here.
He and his parents moved to Oklahoma shortly after he was born and then on to Springfield, Mo., on his 6th birthday.
But his father was from Denison and his mother from Sherman, so they often came home to visit relatives. "Back then, there was no air-conditioning," Mr. Babb says.
His mother was a stay-at-home mom. His father worked the maintenance department and boiler rooms at Kraft Foods Co. for nearly 40 years.
During the Missouri summers, son Ralph worked for Kraft – shoveling curd with a coal shovel and loading cheese barrels into the aging caves – to pay his way through the University of Missouri.
"It was a great job," he says, clearly meaning it.
Good in math and science, he started out in civil engineering, but that didn't float his boat.
'A' for accounting
His fraternity brothers persuaded him to shift into business. Accounting was the first course listed in the catalog. That's how he became an accounting major and then an accountant with Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. in St. Louis.
The senior management team came to Dallas this summer, and as of mid-October, 27 people have moved here. Over the next three years, about 200 people will relocate from Detroit.
Those transplants are settling all over the map. And even with Detroit's weak housing market, they're getting more bang for their buck, Mr. Babb reports.
He moved into Bluffview – that wooded area off Northwest Highway where estates rest on lots large enough to handle them gracefully.
"What you have to watch is you don't have a basement," he says. "But we have a great attic."
Work and more work
He works out every morning and starts his workday about 6 a.m. He usually leaves the office 12 hours later but often heads out to an event before going home.
And when he's not working?
"What do I like to do?" he pauses, stalling for an answer. "Well, work's a big part of it. Work is not just work. It's also my hobby."
And family is important, too, says Mr. Babb, who has been married to Barb for 37 years.
Both of their children went to Southern Methodist University. His daughter lives here and is about to give birth to twins, which will give her four under 4. Mr. Babb swears being close to the grandkids was just a happy coincidence in the relocation decision.
He took up golf after his kids were in high school but doesn't get to play often. He's only managed to fit in 27 holes since coming to Dallas.
"I'm not very good, but I like to get out and walk with my friends," he says.
What's his handicap?
This, too, gives him pause. "It's been awhile since I played. I think when I left, it was an index of about 15.5. That's a bogey-plus golfer."
For those who think Ralph Babb needs to get a life, he believes he already has a pretty good one. He just wishes each day were six hours longer.
What would he do with the extra time? Work more, of course, he says. "It is exciting, and it is fun. If I could physically do it, I would."
Looking out from the top of Thanksgiving Tower where the Comerica sign-lighting party is being held, he gazes at the construction cranes and buildings coming out of the ground.
"It's just amazing the growth that is going on and the vibrancy of the community," he says. "There's resurgence in Dallas as far as you can see."
Nod to Nasher
Looking down on the Arts District, he sadly notes the passing of Ray Nasher, a director of Comerica's Texas advisory board and a close friend of his.
Mr. Nasher was on holiday in Europe when Comerica announced that it was taking the Dallas legend's advice and moving here.
The 85-year-old became ill while flying home and died at a local hospital.
"I was looking forward to Ray coming back and being able to tell him in person," says Mr. Babb. "Ray was very special."
Mr. Bilstrom, who also moved here in July, says his boss is special, too.
The Comerica executives have been associates and golf buddies since 1990, when both were at Mercantile Bank in St. Louis.
"I would not be here if it weren't for Ralph," says Mr. Bilstrom. "I was retired, and Ralph asked me to come to Detroit. I only would have moved from St. Louis to Detroit for one person: Ralph. He is an individual of consummate quality.
"Ralph's the one who calls the branch manager after a robbery to make sure they're OK. He's the one who gives little Tiffany presents at Christmas to the administrative assistants on the executive floor. He's the one who on Valentine's Day gives a bit of Godiva chocolate to everybody. He goes that extra distance to make sure people know he's grateful for everything they do.
"He's exactly what you'd hope a person in his position would be. And he's the same person today as he was in 1990."
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