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Raymond J. Harbert is not going away any time soon. The founder of Harbert Management Corp. has worn many hats in his lifetime - heading his father’s construction company, building his $8 billion financial firm, helping steer his alma mater Auburn University, and being involved in Birmingham’s food scene. On Monday, his firm announced Harbert will become executive chairman on Jan. 1, 2026, and Travis Pritchett, the company’s president and COO, will be elevated to CEO. In an announcement, the company said Harbert will “work closely” with Pritchett to guide the firm’s strategic direction. The son of a Birmingham business titan, Harbert became CEO of Harbert Corp. in his early 30s. The construction part of the business was later sold to Raytheon. He created Harbert Management, building a career that was later recognized on his induction into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame last year. Harbert, who rarely gives interviews, talked to AL.com about his future, his career, and his thoughts on several subjects related to business and wealth. The interview has been edited for length. Why did you decide now to take on this new role? My first-generation management team started retiring 10 or 11 years ago, and it’s something that I’ve been working on for probably 10 years. There’s no magic to the timing. It simply had to do with my handing the reins over to Travis Pritchett and his team. It’s been something I had been waiting on for the right time to do, when the firm was in the right position to hand over. It has more to do with the firm being on the trajectory that I want it on for the next generation to take over. We came out of COVID, which was a very interesting period in investment management. I think we’ve got a great team, a great group to lead the firm forward in the coming years. These guys we have here, in my opinion, are highly competent and highly qualified. You’ve been in this for more than thirty years. Any periods that stand out in your memory? The formation of the firm back in the early 90s was very illustrative to me as far as from an entrepreneurial standpoint in getting an investment management firm off the ground. The next big period was the dotcom era of late 90s and 2000s, and the impact it had on all the markets. Obviously the global financial crisis in 2008 had a huge impact on all firms. COVID was a fascinating period – a black swan event. Nobody had seen a pandemic in a hundred years. We weathered that storm well, but it has been an interesting time for the last four or five years as you work through that. I do feel like the coming years should be much more stable. It ought to be a period of time when we excel in what we do. I’m struck by you saying the coming years should be much more stable, in that, if you ask people on the street, they might find it a very unstable period. I fully understand that. We’ve come through a very unusual time in the investment management world as far as COVID and the sheer amount of stimulus thrown into the economy. I think by definition, you’re looking at entering a period of time that is more normalized than the last four or five years. I’m not saying there won’t be bumps in the road. For professionals, this is going to be a period of time that, when you’ve got good ideas, good analytical skills, you’ll be able to capitalize on that. I think it will be a more normalized time. The political environment is a little interesting, but I don’t find the environment from an investment point of view to be a negative at all. In our world, you’re looking at investing in real assets. If you’re patient and you’re not chasing yield, I think this will be a good time for the next few years. You’ve come up in two different spheres of business. What kind of advice would you have for someone just starting out? I’ve said this before many times. If somebody has the entrepreneurial bent to create a business and stay with it, the real key to success in my opinion is persistence. You have to stay committed to what you’re doing. It takes an unwavering belief in that endeavor, and also in yourself. I don’t think being an entrepreneur is something that’s cut out for everybody. What do people not get about wealth creation? There are a number of things. You have to be consistent in what you’re trying to do. You have to be patient. And you can’t chase every latest trend and hope that you’re going to get there. I happen to be a big believer in modern portfolio theory. I think you should invest in asset classes in a portfolio manner. Wealth creation has more to do with risk management than the latest idea. Obviously, you’ve been involved with Auburn University for years, as an alumnus and as a trustee. Any thoughts on who should be the next football coach? I was on the board for 15 to 16 years and was very involved in that. I’ve been off the board for more than two years. I really don’t have any thoughts on that. I’m not involved in that situation. I wish John Cohen, who I think is an unbelievably fine athletic director, all the best. I haven’t reached out to him, and he hasn’t reached out to me. That is no longer my issue. As one of Alabama’s major business figures, how would you characterize its economy? I think Alabama in the press doesn’t get the due that it should. The economy here is good. The vast majority of my business and revenue is generated outside the state of Alabama, but I think it’s a good place to do business. We have been very successful in developing a very sophisticated investment management shop here. I’m bullish on Alabama. Sure, there are things that could be better. But I am very bullish on Alabama, and bullish on Birmingham. Given your involvement in the development of the Alabama Futures Fund, what would say is the present state of venture capital here? I would tell you that we’ve been moderately successful in what we were trying to do. I think you’ve got to look at Shipt and Landing, both of Bill Smith’s creations, and there are others that specifically came out of that organization. We have not, in my opinion, accomplished what I hoped to accomplish when I formed it. I don’t know that that’s over. We’re having conversations about a second fund. We’re continuing to try to develop that ecosystem here. Maybe I was overly optimistic about what we were going to do. Do you have any plans past Jan. 1? I’m still going to be very much involved in the firm as executive chairman. People have asked about it, but I’m in great health. I look forward to working with this next generation management team. I’m 20 years older than most of them. I think that the firm has got a great trajectory in front of it. My father handed over his firm to me when I was 31, and it was a very challenging period. I’ve been in this role for the past 26 years, and I look forward to working with these guys. They’re more talented than I am, and better educated than I am. And I’ll continue to be involved in moving Birmingham’s culinary scene forward. I was in Greenville, S.C. (for the Michelin honors) last night, and I was thrilled to see we had restaurants recognized. That’s a great, great thing for Birmingham.
