Trust and Transformation: Stephen Pack on Integrity in Hospital Investment Banking

Stephen Pack is a successful investment banker and the President of his firm, Armadale Capital, with an immense passion for his work and the importance of trust in the business world. However, these developments are not as straightforward as they may seem: after graduating pre-med from Princeton, Pack spent some time as a professional tennis player before taking a job on Wall Street. He then attended Harvard Business School after starting Armadale Capital. 

It was on Wall Street where he first explored hospital investment banking, the focus of his firm. Hospital investment banking focuses on raising capital to enhance hospital facilities, reduce expenses, expand opportunities, and reduce risk. He reaches out to investors to invest in hospital bonds, helping hospitals build new facilities. 

Pack suggests that undergraduate students should leverage what they have learned to find new opportunities, which is what Pack did when he left Bank of America after 19 years on Wall Street. Without the distractions of a larger firm, he has been able to give more attention to his clients. He places a great deal of value on his relationships with clients, relationships built on a foundation of trust. For Pack, integrity, intention, capabilities, and results are all required to form such a connection. 

In 2008, when he had just opened Armadale, the country was in a credit crisis, and there was a general lack of trust towards big firms. Because Pack had already proven himself as a reliable and trustworthy business partner, hospitals unwilling to work with big firms were willing to put their trust in him. Pack’s long-standing relationship with clients such as the Medical University of South Carolina demonstrates that the value he puts in trust is not understated, as he has helped them with $1.45B worth of investments. 

Pack works to secure the best deal for his clients. In the case of Northeast Health System, this meant refinancing after the original investment to secure a lower interest rate, ultimately saving the community $136M. It is no wonder Pack’s clients stay loyal, and he believes in the power of trust. Healthcare, he says, is an industry built on trust: trust in the doctors, nurses, and administrators; therefore, it only makes sense that those responsible for its financing are held to the same standards with the same reliance on trust. 

Pack’s final remarks concerned advice for the students. He encouraged everyone to ask tough questions not only to others but to themselves, but to stay humble and never quit learning. Finally, he said, “Dare to be great.” I trust his advice.