Longview Research Partners, LLC

Background: As a member of GEICO Co-CEO Lou Simpson's investment team in the 1990s, after a career as a journalist at Fortune Magazine, I established an original approach to investigative field research on companies. I have delivered field insights into companies for nearly 30 years. The process works equally well for public and private companies. I founded Longview in 2012 and operate as a sole proprietor. My approach: Financials tell only part of the story about a company, and insights into what might happen in the future are tied up in its intangibles – namely its people, processes and culture. I generate key insights into a company’s operating strengths and weaknesses – ones that are otherwise difficult to attain – by speaking with customers, competitors, suppliers and former employees – in order to develop an understanding of its prospects that is timely and roughly right. What differentiates Longview: My work focuses on a contact’s experience and their own insights as business operators based on that experience. It is a targeted approach – rifle rather than shotgun – designed to gather the most relevant insights. Expert networks: The work I do can complement commoditized insights provided by Expert Networks. Expert networks have changed the field research landscape in ways mostly – but not all – for the good. They can provide greater speed up the learning curve, through past transcripts and bespoke calls. But Expert Networks generate information seen/shared by many investors. And money changing hands can alter the quality of the conversations. Compliance: I rely on strict compliance policies and procedures to discreetly gather insights from knowledgeable and reliable contacts in the field, while staying well clear of material, non-public information and the confidentiality obligations of contacts.