Darien High School Class of 1987

Friday, May 05, 2006

George Sykes in Manhattan

Hi all,

Many thanks to Jen Sharpe for pointing out this blog to me - I just saw Jen at our 15th college reunion at Johns Hopkins. We couldn't help but turn our discussion to the upcoming DHS 20th...

Since college? First, professional news... After Johns Hopkins, moved to NYC planning to work for two years at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, then go to business school for a two year 'vacation'. Instead? Got sucked into the vortex of Wall Street. I Worked for DLJ for five years and branched off with a few co-workers in 1995 to start our own company, Links Securities. A merger in 2001 and we are now a part of a company called Guggenheim Partners in Manhattan. I run a fixed income hedge fund for the moment (it's not all fun and games, the average hedge fund lasts four years, shorter than the average pro NFL quarterback's career!). I'm in year three of the fund.

Personal news... Married in 1996 to Amanda Crider Sykes, our 10th anniversary is coming up in October. I met Amanda in college (she went to Goucher in Baltimore) but we did not date until about three years after graduation. We've lived in the same darn apartment in Manhattan at 61st and 3rd since. In 2002 our son George was born, and within months, after going stir crazy, we were looking at weekend houses- we bid on a few houses in Rowayton (sounds like alot of classmates are in Rowayton!). We came close to buying there, but ended up in East Hampton. We enjoy it despite battling Friday traffic on the L.I.E. And after selling our souls, we got little G into a Manhattan nursery school, which we love, Madison Avenue Presbyterian. Whew. College applications should be a breeze after the bare-knuckle brawl of raising a family in the city. I'd be game to move to CT but my wife will only be taken kicking and screaming. Just last night we had the big charity auction at our son's school and I was one of the three 'guinea pig' dads performing skits on stage to help sell the items. Fatherhood is definitely the priority at the moment- and I love it.

My dad retired in 1997 after teaching 30+ years at DHS - he and my mom now live in Moss Creek in Hilton Head, South Carolina. We happily visit them twice a year for some warm weather and golf/tennis. All my dad's Williams college classmates have retired down there as well, and now it's like THEY are back in high school. We have to remind them not to call after 10pm!

Great to hear random bits of news from fellow classmates. I have done a poor job keeping up with most - besides Jen Sharpe, I've recently seen Eric Smith who lives in Miami with his wife, Maray.

I'd certainly welcome contact with fellow NYC-area alums of DHS! My email is
george.sykes@gsgamma.com.

George Sykes

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