165: From Manila to Manhattan: How One Man Cracked Wall Street’s Inner Circle | Butch Meily

Have you ever wondered what it takes to succeed in a high-stakes business? 

It’s not a simple life. There’s things to gain, but also things to lose. Today’s episode is an incredible cautionary tale for those of you who are building your way to success. 

In today’s episode, Damon is joined by Butch Meily, former PR strategist to Reginald Lewis, a leveraged buyout dealmaker, and now humanitarian—to discuss his powerful memoir From Manila to Wall Street. 

In this episode you’ll learn 

• Why proximity to power can be both a blessing and a burden 
• The personal cost of chasing high-level success 
• What business titan Reginald Lewis taught Butch about leadership, identity, and pressure 
• How Butch transitioned from PR executive to global humanitarian 
• Why “ordinary lives” often lead to the deepest happiness 
• And so much more. 

Timestamps: 

00:00 – Intro to Butch Meily 

00:29 – The cost of attaching yourself to powerful people 

01:30 – Why Butch finally wrote his memoir 

02:36 – Who the book is for and how it's structured 

03:50 – Butch’s first meeting with Reginald Lewis 

05:17 – Reg’s early PR battle and the New York Times story 

07:10 – Getting screamed at in a Bentley: Butch’s first ride with Reg 

08:49 – The emotional toll of working under constant pressure 

10:35 – Life regrets and the wisdom of Barbara Bush 

12:10 – Can you have both success and happiness? 

14:02 – Leveraged Buyouts 101 + the Beatrice takeover story 

18:55 – Where Reg’s courage really came from 

20:10 – Reg’s mantra: Keep going no matter what 

22:18 – The role of luck and hard work 

23:27 – Why America is still the land of opportunity 

25:03 – Butch’s “candy cane” vision of America vs. Reg’s experience as a Black man 

27:14 – The pressure of being “not a Black success—but an American success” 

29:21 – The Hamptons mansion fire: real-life suspense 

34:12 – Reg passes away, then Butch’s father dies days later 

37:39 – Butch is fired—then brought back by an unexpected new CEO 

40:12 – How Loyda Lewis led with grace, faith, and fierce business savvy 

42:34 – Would Reg like the book? And why Butch wrote it now 

44:36 – Butch’s new life: humanitarian work and startup mentorship 

46:01 – Final lesson: why “ordinary” is extraordinary 

 

Resources Mentioned: 

• From Manila to Wall Street by Butch Meily 
• Butch Meily LinkedIn
• Butch Meily’s Website 
• Reginald F. Lewis Museum 

 About the Guest: 

Butch is the author of the memoir, From Manila to Wall Street – An Immigrant’s Journey With America’s First Black Tycoon. 

Butch’s current job is President of the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), a private sector disaster management organization that includes the major business groups in the country.  He helped found PDRF,...