By James Chang, GHS class of 2023, intern for Joe Kelly
One Windrose Way is a quaint house in a quaint neighborhood by the beach that borders the Long Island Sound. On a clear day, you’ll find the house’s doors propped open, facing away from the ocean to let in the breeze. The whole neighborhood is dead quiet, save the distant hum of lawnmowers and the occasional rumble of passing cars. As you turn the corner, you might glance down the road to see the strip of sand and, a little farther out, blue waters lined by boats and the distant horizon. The waft of the sea is unmistakable.
It is in this unsuspecting place that business is run, above the garage in an antiquated office lined with swords, trophies, and a multiplicity of hidden and bizarre mementos ranging from the taxidermy of a boar’s head to a real piece of radioactive uranium (in its very own protective case, of course). Surprisingly, the piece of uranium makes sense, because this office is the home of a brokerage firm: an international uranium brokerage firm, the epicenter of action facilitating movement in the millions of pounds of uranium every year to powerplants around the globe, all of this action tucked away in a quiet corner of Greenwich. You can only imagine how, every day, the office is alight with activity, a firing-away of constant phone calls and bustling chatter reminiscent of old Wall Street firms from the movies – there’s just one difference: a single broker sits at the desk. His name is Joe Kelly.
Joe Kelly rings a bell for many people in town. His name comes with many different hats: Chairman of the Greenwich Board of Education, President of Connecticut Rugby, CEO of Forestland Development, CEO of Uranium Markets LLC. Each hat comes with its own colour, its own responsibilities. They nevertheless fit quite snugly on the man, a man who seems to take charge wherever he goes, drawing people with him to get the job done.
Work starts bright and early at 8:00am, Joe with his mug of coffee, already at the desk on a call with God knows who. The inbox is clogged, a thousand tabs are open on his computer screen. The desks are scattered with papers. 9:40am sharp I make sure to join the daily meeting from my spot by the sliding door. Ross from London is already on the call. Alexandra from New York is there, too, and so is Kelley. We hold our breath and wait for Joe to join. He says, “Gooood morning!” in his booming voice.
The team discusses the current market. Potential supply volatility due to the coup in Niger, uncertainty in France, etc. is brought up, and they settle on the day’s financial run. Then, the important talk of bids and offers begins. Billion-dollar corporation names are thrown around like pinballs. “Itochu is asking for November delivery.” “We have a spot bid from Cameco for $56.20.” “Hold on, I’m going to call my guy.” Joe mutes himself and calls his guy. “Oleg, I’ll give you a $56.20 bid.” He negotiates some more and we wait in anticipation. There is a flurry of agreements and an exchange of prices and dates. Just like that, a deal has been settled, magic, and the team moves onto the next thing. Maybe tomorrow Joe will exclaim, “We made another deal after you left!” It happens like that.
Some time after the morning meeting Joe is on another call, this time putting on his BoE Chairman hat. He talks about value engineering a budget for the new Central Middle School. With Joe on the job, things get moving. Next is an interview with the Greenwich Times…
Joe calls people up as if on a whim; he calls them to talk about the day, the weather, how things are going, how family is, everything intermingled with lots of jokes and talk like friends. The calls are to chat, of course, but most times to do business. And business always gets done. The point sticks and objectives are delineated.
Business at Uranium Markets LLC has been good for a long time. Armed with twenty five years of experience on Wall Street, Joe is more than well equipped to run his successful company. He knows the ins-and-outs of the market, making decisive actions based on that knowledge to stay ahead of his competition. Uranium Markets LLC is truly unique, as Joe has taken the opportunity to drive a stake into a market with big implications for the future of global energy. The business’s game plan is forward-thinking. Risk averse. Day in and day out, deals are made, dollars fly through the door. Low liquidity allows for a slower pace of work; the job gives Joe time to accomplish other things: to be a rugby coach, to work in public service, to give back to his community, and more.
If you were around Greenwich Ave on June 11th, you probably caught sight of (or heard) the celebratory Greenwich High School Parade of Champions rolling down the street, a grand procession stretching almost half a mile long packed with athletes, town delegates, and the local troop of Boy Scouts, all tailed by the Greenwich Fire Department. The parade was dotted with GHS school colors: red, black, and white with the school cardinal held high on banners just behind the American flag. I, leading by the front of the parade, held in tow a large speaker blasting “We are the Champions” by Queen. Over the music was constant conversation, a buzz of excitement. I was immensely proud, as, under the title of “James the intern”, I had worked behind the scenes in a joint effort with Joe, Fred Camillo, Greenwich High School, the Town Hall, and the Police Department to organize the entire parade in less than a week! It felt surreal that I had helped gather so many people together for such a great purpose: to celebrate all of Greenwich High School’s stellar athletic achievements this past school year.
Under Joe’s leadership with Connecticut Rugby I was also given the opportunity to take a big risk: namely, to launch a merchandise line for RugbyCT. The launch was a first of many: a first expedition into the world of entrepreneurship, a first into sourcing a product I designed, a first into making sales on the spot. I still remember how, on the day of, the sun was bearing down and I set up shop in the shade by the entrance, and shortly after that I made my first sale within minutes of setting up. The rest of the day was a blur. Joe stopped by in between games to check in, and then I waved my shirts in the stands, made conversation with everyone passing by, and everything else. By the final hour Joe didn’t have to check on the stand any longer – I walked up to him and proudly declared, “We’re all sold out!”. Joe shook my hand vigorously and gave me a big bonus for the day. I was breathless with exhilaration. The two boxes of shirts that I had arrived with were all empty. After the day’s success, the money I raised went straight to funding the championship in its entirety, everything from the referees to the stadium fees and the stand-by ambulance.
During my time I’ve also gotten the special opportunity to write articles for local newspapers on a plethora of matters. As Joe’s “ghost writer”, I wrote an article on star Greenwich rugby players who led Connecticut to win the All-Star Championships. There’s always plenty to write about, seeing as I’m sitting in one of the most thrilling offices in town. At the moment I’m working with the Uranium Markets team to liven our daily financial run and add some colour to the current marketing emails. The day’s work is something new every morning.I still have two more weeks with this internship, and reflecting back on it so far, it’s crazy that I’ve been given so much freedom to take risks, to try new things, and to engineer solutions when faced with new problems. In more concrete terms, I’ve had the chance to organize a parade, to run a t-shirt business, and to learn about the frontlines of brokerage trading and the world of nuclear energy from one of the best in the business. I would say that I’ve had quite the experience so far.