Former banking consultant shares personal history at IBA conference

Northwestern Financial Review, Mar 1, 2002 by Bengtson, Tom

For many years, Suku Radia conducted a successful financial institutions practice for KPMG in Des Moines, Iowa. His seminars every spring attracted hundreds of bankers, many of whom were sorry to see him leave the industry two years ago when he became the chief financial officer at Des Moines-based Meredith Corp. Instead of helping bankers with tax strategies, he now helps one of the nation's best-known media companies make the most of its magazine and television properties.

Radia was the luncheon speaker at the Iowa Bankers Association's Management Conference Feb. 6. He revealed a fascinating personal history that began in Uganda, Africa where he was born 50 years ago.

As he neared college age, Radia said he wanted to study in the United States instead of Britain where many of his peers went. He applied to the University of California at Berkeley and was accepted, but before his parents would allow him to go they wanted to see the campus for themselves. It was the 1960s, and Radia said his parents were shocked to find the university filled with rebellious, unkempt students. "My mother is a devout Hindu and when she came back she told me that she would kill me before she would allow me to go to Berkeley," said Radia.

A family friend who had earned an agronomy degree from Iowa State University in Ames convinced Radia's parents to allow him to study in the United States at his relatively placid alma mater. "I arrived in August to 100 degree temperatures and high humidity," Radia described his first impression of Iowa. "Even through Uganda is located near the equator, the elevation of the country limits the temperature to a range between 80 and 40, and the air is very dry. Three months after I arrive in Iowa, it was snowing and the temperature was near zero. I thought I was going to die."

While Radia was studying, dictator Idi Amin rose to power in Uganda, and in 1972 he expelled the country's Indian population. On two hours' notice, Radia's parents left everything behind and fled to Great Britain. The change meant, among other things, that Radia now had to pay his own tuition and board. He got a job and trimmed his expenses by moving in with a friend. Eighteen months later he married his friend's sister, Mary, who got to know Radia after he moved in. Today, 26 years later, she is a doctor and the couple has three children.

Radia explained that two years ago, KPMG offered him a promotion that would require him to move to California, not far from where he once considered going to college. Having spent most of his adult life in Iowa, Radia said he found the decision very difficult to make. Taking a week to think it over, he got a telephone call from Meredith Corp., offering him the CFO job. He took the job because it permitted him to stay in Iowa, although it pulled him out of the accounting and consulting field with which he was so familiar.

Meredith Corp., started more than 100 years ago with a magazine called Successful Farming. The company is best known for its Better Homes and Gardens and Ladies Home Journal magazines, which have millions of subscribers. The company also owns 12 television stations.

Radia frequently travels to New York, visiting with investment analysts who follow media companies. He had a meeting scheduled for the World Trade Center on Sept. 12, a meeting that obvious never took place. "I'm very grateful the meeting wasn't scheduled a day earlier," he said.

The Minnesota Bankers Association launched a media campaign last month to raise awareness about identity theft. The campaign was timed to coincide with Consumer Protection Week, which was Feb. 3-9.

MBA says Minnesota ranks among the 10 states with the highest number of reported incidents of identity theft. MBA distributed 10 tips for avoiding identity theft, and distributed public service announcements to nearly 300 radio stations across the state.

"The MBA is committed to educating consumers about the growing problem of identity theft," commented Bill Bond, MBA's chief executive officer. "Judging from our high reporting rate, identity theft is a real concern for Minnesota consumers."