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<< it—his wife. Concerned about a perception of nepotism, he turned to his board of directors. They unanimously agreed Kate was the person to head up the new company. At the time working as a school psychologist, Kate had experience helping children whose families had relocated, especially during her time at the Bellevue schools with their many military families. The couple met at Harvard University, where their fathers were attending a 25th class reunion. Sandy was a Harvard student, and Kate Cloney attended Mount Holyoke College. Her father was director of the Boston Marathon for nearly 40 years. They dated and were headed for marriage. But some people wondered if, with their diverse backgrounds, they were a good match. Sandy was from the Midwest. Kate was from Boston. Sandy is Unitarian. Kate is Catholic. Sandy is tall. Kate is short. Okay, I made that last one up. They did marry in 1960 while Sandy served in the U.S. Air Force in San Antonio. That was five decades, three children, and nine grandchildren ago. The question of compatibility has been settled. The couple moved to Omaha when Sandy entered the family business, NP Dodge Real Estate. He is the fourth man in his family to bear the N.P. Dodge name over the last 155 years. Kate and Sandy’s son, Nate, is the fifth N.P. Dodge at the real estate company. Kate believes their daughters, Laura Luther of Omaha and Jennifer Altenau of California, learned to value independent thinking while observing their mother’s
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B2B Omaha Magazine • Summer 2012
career. “I hope they learned to follow their passions in whatever they do.” She shares her husband’s viewpoint that children should have business experience elsewhere before joining the family business. “We want it to be a positive choice, not an expectation,” she said. Currently, Kate serves on the governing board of Business Ethics Alliance, the boards of Methodist Health System, Methodist Foundation, the College of Saint Mary, and the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She and her husband are honorary chairs of Rebuilding Together’s capital campaign. She has been president of several local charities.
NEI Global Relocation’s Story Twenty-one Fortune 500 companies are included among the 160 corporations that turn to NEI for help in relocating more than 10,000 employees each year in 87 countries. Kate presides over a staff of 270 employees who are available to clients around the clock. An NEI account executive received a
midnight call from a young transferee who lost his money while playing pool. She found a hotel and a ride for him. But before going back to bed, the sleepy-eyed account executive asked why he didn’t call his mother. He responded, “I knew my mother would kill me, and you would help me.” When it’s 2 p.m. in Singapore or China, it’s the middle of the night in Omaha, where NEI employees are holding a meeting by Skype with vendors. A phone meeting with partners in India may take place at 4 a.m., Omaha time. “That’s what I mean by 24/7,” Kate said. “The business of relocation is also complicated by different languages, cultures, currencies.” NEI has staff members who were born in or have lived in 19 countries and speak 14 languages, including Russian, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin, German, and French. Since 1985, NEI has expanded services from buying and selling homes to include expense management, spousal counseling, and helping employees learn the culture, language, and getting around in a new country. NEI also assists companies with recruitment by explaining the financial aspects of relocating, so employees can make informed decisions about a move. Kate has no immediate plans to retire. But she believes having a succession plan in place is vital to the health of a company. “You want to develop a company where the management team is in place to keep the company successful. Randy and Michelle are two members of a strong team that wouldn’t miss a beat if I wasn’t here.”
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