When you talk with Dan Adams about his approach to both his business and to life, be prepared to hear a lot about empowering others, about giving back, about going the extra mile in every way, and about faith. In the almost three decades since he founded The Capital Corporation, Adams, the investment bank’s president and CEO, says he has labored to build a successful business that serves both its clients and its community, out of a sense of responsibility and dedication to both. “I feel very honored and blessed to have lived in the Upstate and to have prospered here over more than 29 years,” says Adams, who was in banking in the Upstate prior to founding The Capital Corporation. “Essentially, I’m a faith-based person, and the mission statement of our company is to honor God in all that we do by consistently empowering people to go the extra mile for our clients, employees, partners, community and the firm.” The success of The Capital Corporation is an obvious source of gratification for Adams; after all, he’s built a company with a list of clients that goes far beyond the geographic boundaries of the Upstate and includes members of the elite Fortune 50. And as a specialist in mergers and acquisitions, he’s built a career working with business owners to ensure that their lifetimes of hard work and dedication are properly rewarded. But it doesn’t take long to understand the depth of Adams’ commitment to giving back to the community. Part of it, he says, is because of his family’s connection to education. Adams’ mother was an educator and one of his two daughters currently teaches. Adams says he values education as a tool for empowerment, and The Capital Corporation has worked with Greenville County Schools through the Public Education Partners’ Make Summer Count program to help ensure that area children maintain their reading levels over summer breaks. For the program, The Capital Corporation sponsors a reading night during the summers, at which Adams and others with the company happily exchange their banker’s suits for children’s books. “Each summer, we do a reading night at Taylors Elementary School and give away books to young children, grades K through five, to try to help them maintain their reading levels during summer break,” Adams says. “We feel very obligated to education and to giving back to be able to help young people to read. So, we’ve given money, and we’ve given of our time and talent.” For the company’s efforts in the Make Summer Count program as well as other programs under the umbrella of Public Education Partners, The Capital Corporation recently was honored at Public Education Partner’s 10th annual Partner of the Year Luncheon. In many ways, The Capital Corporation’s philanthropy is driven by Adams’ sense of the importance of empowerment. “We honor God in all that we do by empowering our people,” Adams says. “The word ‘empowering’ is just trying to get our people to go the extra mile — for our clients, for the community,” Adams explains. “We do a lot of things that we give back on, both monetarily and through our time.” In addition to its support of education, The Capital Corporation generously loans employees to a number of local charitable organizations and nonprofits. The Capital Corporation executives have served on numerous boards, including for Artisphere; the Rose Ball, Greenville’s longest-running charitable event; the Greenville Symphony Orchestra; and the Greenville County Museum of Art. In addition, The Capital Corporation also sponsors the Community Foundation of Greenville’s annual Education Spirit Award. The Capital Corporation also gives to a variety of local agencies working to help the needy in the Upstate.
“We do a lot of things that we give back on, both monetarily and through our time.” – Dan Adams, Founder The Capital Corporation Understanding that charity begins at home, Adams says that a team within the company works to help any employee who has a crisis or unexpected need. “We believe that paying attention to our employees is important, and as a result of that, our average tenure for an employee is 10 years or more,” he says. Adams credits his company’s 29-year success story to building on a foundational “attitude and spirit” of caring. “Obviously, we’re in business to make money and for our clients, and I think the longevity of our people, the care of our people, is seen through their expertise,” Adams says. “In 29 years, we’ve certainly been able to break through the clouds, if you will, to serve some very valuable organizations throughout this country.”
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