Keith Geary is a self-admitted nerd who has succeeded by focusing on a particular market, one that has brought down some of the financial world’s biggest players.
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Geary, after years of crunching numbers and working with clients in the world of banking, developed his own system of evaluating mortgage-backed securities to replace an industry standard that he considered flawed.
That launched him and his clients on a series of successful investments that culminated last year with Geary purchasing Capital West Securities, a downtown Oklahoma City firm.
"I grew up with the phrase ‘ordinary abilities when focused excel,’” Geary said. "I look at myself as just an ordinary guy, focused on mortgage-backed securities and analytics and enjoy that. That’s kind of what I’ve always enjoyed, the analytical part, and it’s worked out really well.”
Geary and his wife, Joni, also have dedicated themselves to help parents like themselves, who are raising autistic children. The Gearys founded Aaron’s Bridge, a foundation named after their 7-year-old son, designed to improve the lives of autistic children.
"Aaron means light-bringer,” Geary said. "We want to bring light into the darkness that there’s no hope for their child into the light that we found, which is that there is hope.”
Geary, 51, recently sat down with The Oklahoman to discuss his business and his background. This is an edited version of that conversation.
Q: Are you a nerd?A: I guess so. I graduated from high school in 1975, and that’s when Apples were first coming out. So if you knew anything about a computer that made you a nerd. Growing up in Illinois, Downers Grove, a western suburb of Chicago, the high school class I had was about 600 kids. You get to the point where you can’t be on the basketball team or the baseball team, so you’re looking for different avenues.
As a little guy, math was interesting to me so computers were interesting to me. I started to play on an Apple computer my Dad got. Through college, I stayed in touch with the computer world so when I came out of college I had some computer background. That’s what attracted Fidelity Bank to hire me.
Q: What is your occupation? A: I tell the staff that my job is to equip and empower. They need to let me know what they need to succeed. Fundamentally, I knew that I needed to renovate the office and get the systems changed and the equipment changes. After that, I feel like I just have to watch over, but not a hands-on type of manager. They’re all adults. I tell them they shouldn’t unless they want to come here. I would guess that I’m more of an encourager, trying to figure out what I can do for you to help you do better.
Q: What’s the toughest thing about being the parent of an autistic child? A: As a parent, you’re worried about your other children, being sure that you’re taking care of them and that they don’t feel burdened. It’s the balancing act of being sure the other children are fine and doing all you can for your child who’s ill for the moment. I can recall a long time, at Thanksgiving, we were having dinner and my oldest daughter described what we were going through with Aaron as just a season at a time. We’ll get through it. We’re just going to move forward. We’ll figure out how to best take care of it, and go on.
I think that in hindsight, it’s been a good thing for us. We’re a close family. They see that our hard work has paid off for us as a family with Capital West, for us as a family with Aaron for his future and for the future of others who could be affected.
Q: Do you have a general philosophy that you live by? A: I was told early on to respect older people, they have wisdom. I would say that I’m now more appreciative of the wisdom of elders. I have often joked with bankers that I have known for 25 or 30 years that I don’t know how they have put up with me. I look back at the time I have spent in their offices listening to them talk about different things. There are some wonderful things that resonate in my mind that they told me.
I regret that I didn’t grow up and mature faster. It’s only been in the last few years that I feel like I see clearly, understand things more clearly, and feel like I’m moving forward.
I would want to say to people who are younger: Be patient and listen. You just don’t know it all when you’re 20, 25. Life gets better.
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Personally speaking
→Hometown: Edmond
→Age: 51
→Family: Wife, Joni; four children, Madelinn, 20; Anna, 17; Grace, 10; and Aaron, 7.
→Education: Finance degree from the University of Illinois.
→Favorite movie: "Lilies of the Field.”
→Ringtone: The one that came with his iPhone.
→Hobbies: Golf, but rarely plays.
→Pet peeve: People who complain without
offering a solution.
→Ideal vacation: On an East Coast beach with family.
→Quote: "I just don’t let things bother me. The sun will come up tomorrow.”
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