You know Charlie Bendit as the guy (with co-CEO Paul Pariser) whose Taconic Investment Partners sold 111 Eighth Ave to Google in 2010 for $1.8B. But he's got another passion.
We snapped him in his office on the 15th floor of the Google Building, which Taconic continues to manage. But these days Charlie also gets out to the Bronx to help a high school. He'd always been interested in education and in 1997 got involved in PENCIL ("Public Education Needs Civic Involvement"), a non-profit that deploys business leaders to advise public schools on management strategies to benefit students. He was assigned to coach Truman High School principal Sana Nasser, and they get together every three months or so to talk about topics like empowerment, delegation, and civic engagement.
The philosophy Charlie's tried to impart is that a school, like a business, is part of a neighborhood. He's proud that she's reached into the community and now many of the local kids attend the high school. With the help of PENCIL (financially supported by the likes of JPMorgan Chase and Elizabeth Arden), it's become an oasis of practical learning, boasting a culinary academy, TV studio, and planetarium, all designed to engage kids. Charlie's also on the NY Board of Regents, where he helps set state policies on education and teacher certification. What moves him to devote time? Recently the Livingston, NJ, native spoke to a class and realized: "We have become the people we used to look up to. We need to make sure they can continue if not exceed our legacy."
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