Jerry Richardson and Hugh McColl both revel in an old story that is reflective of their respective styles and similar career arcs.
One day, when Richardson went to the bank to see McColl, his friend was coming out of a loan committee meeting that also included Luther Hodges Jr., the son of the North Carolina governor and eventual chairman of NCNB, which later acquired Bank of America.
Waiting off to the side, Richardson heard McColl prodding Hodges about a real estate loan he’d made that wasn’t going well. He warned Hodges that it might be his downfall at the bank. Hodges looked over to see Richardson, still in his Hardee’s uniform, having come directly from his Charlotte store. To that point, McColl recalls, he had loaned Richardson about $300,000.
Gesturing toward Richardson, Hodges said to McColl, “You’re standing by your downfall.”
“I had on my little Hardee’s outfit, with mustard and ketchup on my shoes,” Richardson said. “Luther is the governor’s son, went to Harvard Business School, and he’s made a real estate loan. Hugh has loaned me this hamburger stand money, with the ketchup on my shoes and no Harvard Business School degree.
“It did work out OK, though.”
