Prior to Virtu, Cifu practiced law for 18 years at the international law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where he was a partner. It simply says a cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, nor tolerate those who do. [9] At West Point, Viola played on the sprint football team and was cadet company commander for Company E-4 his senior year. It was much the same as it is now and probably was for many years before: a very concentrated, specific social culture that was extremely singular in purpose. And I remember more than a handful of my mathematics professors finishing the work with the boards with 15, 20, 25 minutes left in the class and describing a combat experience. But we had a very, very unfair burden hoisted upon us, because we had to internalize, maintain, protect, defend, and live these core values that defined West Point at a time where there was never more challenge put upon them and never more physical evidence of doubt by the population and society that we were sworn to defend. The relationship between him and the nation was ephemeral, and so when youre raised around that, you really get a sense that there are principles at work and mechanisms at work much, much more important thantheyre gifts. Vincent Viola is our Founder and has served as our Executive Chairman since November 2013. And I think I have about 100, close to 100 classmates, who graduated with the class of 78many of them, many of them went on to have stellar military careers. You come here, and its interesting because society was just integrating, and internalizing the disruption that it experienced from the middle of the Vietnam War until its end. If you dont understand all of the inputs to that self-realization or self-decision point, you seek out and you ask, What is it like to be in combatphysically, psychologically?. But the storyits kind of interesting because my friends said, You have to come down here. Market-maker Virtu completed a series of secondary offerings in May 2019 to help repurchase more than $500 million in stock from Viola. I basically was torn. I think he finished his term, as I remember. Mr. Viola, who was recognized in 2021 by Sports Business Journal for his advocacy in diverse and inclusive hiring, is one of four team owners on the NHL's Executive Inclusion Council to combat racism and accelerate diversity. So we were together in the same company for the first three years of my cadet career until the scandal. [18][6] In 2013, their Upper East Side townhouse was listed for sale at $114 million. Despite the fact that when we were off-post, or when we would observe the civilian world, it was a very almost non-linear set of conditions. All Rights Reserved. Cifu currently serves on the board of directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the board of visitors of Columbia College at Columbia University. He is the son of the late Thomas and the late Caterina (Verrastro) Viola. It was very fascinating, and I could actually say, for me, it was quiteI was self-aware of it, because the academymy classI think this can be documented. You were always very good at mathematics. I was always pretty good at mathematics. And I was never called for even a drill roll check, nor were any persons in my company. And I remember hearing later that the people were called out of formation, because they were informed that they were under an honor investigation for an exercise, a take-home exercise that we had in electrical engineering. I had an enormously fascinating experience around the honor scandal. Mr. Viola was the owner/operator o In some ways it does, absolutely, I would say. Viola has stacked Virtus Board with family, friends and longtime business associates.. So theyand this is my perception. Hes nowhere near as rich as he boasts, nor as poor as his critics claim. You have an affirmative duty, if you see. In December 2021 they paid $19.725 million for a six-bedroom, six-bathroom single-family beachfront home on the Gulf of Mexico in Boca Grande, records show. So Im sure people probably didnt have it as an academic priority like, lets say, the social sciences paper that we had to write our first class year. Im sure heart surgeons that study today are not thinking about the difficulty to navigate the administrative Byzantine labyrinth of how the Medicare system will allow him to operate at will. This is very, very unique. at Columbia Law School. And of course, my class suffered the honor scandal of 1976. And I can just remember the passion with which he spoke about operational planning, and the conduct of a platoon operation. A definite weight was put on my class because of the honor scandal, and I remember my First Class summerI was a squad leader in the first detail at Beast Barrackshaving to watch approximately somewhere it seems like 50 or 60 of my classmates wear the same uniform every day different than what we were wearing. The son of a truck driver from Brooklyn, Vincent Viola started electronic-trading firm Virtu Financial in 2008 and took the company public in 2015. And so that means you arrived here in 1970. I dont have specific memory or recall. The Hong Kong billionaire developer sees silver lining in mainland Chinas property market turmoil, readies master plan to hand over group to next generation. Most persons had been introduced at some point to drug usedrinking was very, very accepted. We were enormously devout around the values and principles that we were living here. But how does that really translate? Viola took the company public in April 2015. Im just trying to understand this. Someone should take a look at the management contract for the arena. VIOLA, VINCENT 69 of East Greenwich, passed away May 3, 2013 at Rhode Island Hospital. The senior staff, as I rememberI remember seeing the Korean service ribbon on some of the senior staff and permanent professorsdare I say when I started our Superintendent, William Knowlton, General Knowltonhe served in World War II, in fact. I think hewell, I dont know what you would call that. Remember in the East Coast, the only place that was close was Fort Dix, and that wasnt a operational unit, it wasnt an operational base. Box 23763 Jim was born December 11, 1931 in Millinocket, Maine to Angelina (nee Pasquine) and Vincent James Viola, Sr. Jim graduated from the. Vincent J. Viola is the Chairman, Owner and Governor of Sunrise Sports & Entertainment and the National Hockey League's Florida Panthers, as well as Chairman of the Florida Panthers Foundation. So this family pulsed with a patriotic sense of duty to this country that gave us a great life. My mom and dad were my dependentsand my younger brother were my dependents from the day I graduated. And I remember the impact it had on his family, especially his dad, who served so honorably in World War II. Yeah, yeah. Mr. Viola, 62, bought the property on East 69th Street and Fifth Avenue in 2005 for $20 million, according to PropertyShark records. The numbers are staggering. My dad hadnt been there since. Which was that the nation was in decline, the Army is in decline, old traditional trusted places were not to be trusted anymore. So when you would ask my dad, What are you, he probably would say, Im a male, husband, father, American, Catholic, or Catholic, American.. Reflects change since 5 pm ET of prior trading day. And upon further investigations, they found enough to where it was a systemic problem and challenge to the honor code. COPYRIGHT 2014 WEST POINT CENTER FOR ORAL HISTORY. When you click on the link below, you will be taken to the West Point Association of Graduates website and instructions on how to give to the Center. One sort of out of the movies, in a sense, and the other one. An entrepreneur, philanthropist, and veteran of the United States Army, Mr. Viola is a Brooklyn, N.Y. native and graduate of both the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and New York Law School. After graduating from the Infantry Officer Basic Course and Ranger School, he served with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell[11] for several years. Cool on honor meant to the people who apparently would cheat and collaborate was that you were okay with collaborating or cheating. If you havent interviewed the honor committee, the senior leaders of the honor committee of the class of 77Mike [E.] Ivy, Mike [Burnell] Henryoh goshI think Carl [Axel] Swansonyou need to sit and have hours around the honor scandal. And it was a great point of honor for my grandfatherhe actually left the military as a noncommissioned officer of the Italian Army. [5], Early life, education and military service, "Five Things To Know About Vincent Viola, Trump's Billionaire Pick For Army Secretary", "Vincent Viola, Founder and Executive Chairman, Virtu Financial", "Vincent Viola Becomes Owner Of The Florida Panthers", "Always Dreaming wins the 143rd Kentucky Derby", "New York businessman leading group purchasing Florida Panthers", "Donald Trump Selects Trading Firm Founder Vincent Viola as Army Secretary", "USMA Class of 1977: The Honor Scandal and Beyond", "All the ways Trump is having an impact on the sports world", "Vincent J. Viola: Executive Profile & Biography", "Virtu Never Loses (Well, Almost Never) in Quest to Upend Markets", "Virtu Financial Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering (NASDAQ:VIRT)", "Trump picks businessman Viola as Army secretary", "Mattis, Trump team clashed over Pentagon appointment", "Trump's pick for Army Secretary drops out", "Vincent Viola, Billionaire Businessman, Is Trump's Choice to Lead the Army", "Army veteran Vincent Viola, billionaire owner of the Florida Panthers, named Trump's Army secretary", "How West Point is becoming a proving ground for technology", "Epic and Epically Opulent Manhattan Townhouse Listed for $114+ Million", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vincent_Viola&oldid=1135074740, This page was last edited on 22 January 2023, at 13:48. And I remember reading an article in the daily news about the landing of the Marines in Vietnam, and even as a young person, sensing that this wasnt as grand a mission set as maybe World War II was. Vincent Viola, a member of the USMA Class of 1977, recounts entering West Point at the end of the Vietnam War and details the cheating scandal of 1977. And when you arrived here, as you said, the country was undergoing a lot of social turmoil. Tell me about Branch Night for youwhat did you choose? So were you investigatedwas every cadet investigated for their commitment? The son of a truck driver from Brooklyn, Vincent Viola started electronic-trading firm Virtu Financial in 2008 and took the company public in 2015. We only knew we wanted to serve our country. WASHINGTON Vincent Viola, the billionaire Wall Street trader Donald J. Trump has nominated to be the secretary of the Army, was accused in August of punching a concessions . The company that I was a member inas Im sure you knowafter Beast Barracks you are assigned to a company in one of the four regiments. Well, these drill rolls actually existed, and they were physical lists on paper, and these cadets, many cadets would sit down and just put checks down next to peoples names if they even thought they mightve ever cheated. Vincent "Vinnie" Viola (born 1956) is an American billionaire businessman and U.S. Army veteran. And. And every time I went home, until my first class year, just because we could go home in civilian clothes, and it was easier, I would go home in uniform, and I was always heralded. He had commanded a brigade in the combat organization of the 101st Airborne Division during the conduct of that battle. All Rights Reserved. Related by education: New York Law School. Having a mobile app can increase accessibility for customers and provide a better customer experience. Viola is the owner of the NHL Florida Panthers. And so theit mustve been quite an achievement for you. [5], Viola was born in 1956 to an Italian American family in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, the son of Virginia (Torre) and John A. You felt that from the first day, because it wasthe first day is transformational. A few had very committed, intellectually grounded reasons for participating in these protests. I was very blessed. [4] He is also the owner of St. Elias Stables and co-owner, with fellow Brooklynite Anthony Bonomo, of the 2017 Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming. $2.5 billion, according to our most recent tally. He drew people in. So this family, from thisthey both came from the same village, my mom and dadfrom this little hamlet had over ten persons serving this new country in harms way. Join the West Point Center for Oral History's Pipeline Alert. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is slated to undergo surgery on his throwin elbow Feb. 22 with Dr. Keith Meister performing the procedure. Enter Search Term. Former President Trump nominated Vincent Viola to become Secretary of the Army in 2017. They had been in companies that basically had been very, very broad in its definition of honor. And if you did, why? And I guess bring it to the next level of the honor procedure. Could be transferred and translated into other worlds. But I know that it got extremely non-linear, the interpretations of the code and peoples reaction to the code. His father's Army service made a significant impression on Viola as a youth. And one of the few times I defied my parents, and I selected the 101st Airborne Division. Vincent James Viola, Jr. of Troy died May 17, 2022. I can tell you that a vast majorityif almost every one of my professors that were uniformed here, and when I was a cadet, I dare say that seemed like 95 percent of the staffwere combat veterans. In contrast the Class A stockholders, who through Virtu own nearly 2/3 of the units of Virtu LLC, have received only $208.4 million in cash dividends during this same period. Under Mr. Viola's stewardship, the Florida Panthers Foundation has refocused its mission on serving veterans, in addition to investing in children's education, conserving the endangered Florida panther, and growing youth hockey with an emphasis on furthering diversity, inclusion, and access to the game. Vincent "Vinnie" Viola (born 1956) is an American billionaire businessman and U.S. Army veteran. Be the first to know! You said osmotic, but sort of how didwhat were the core elements that you took away from here that led you to feel that you were a leader, not only in the world of the Army, but out in the civilian world, too, where youve had enormous success, and where you have taken some of what youve learned and applied it to the outside world? Your father wasin that period your father was suffering from what? Its an internally generated strength. Use arrows to navigate between autocomplete results. Viola later withdrew, however, citing business conflicts. He was a truck driver. I well remember sitting at a Breakfast next to the Panthers lobbyist when County n City Lobbyists fawned all over him AND A SUN SENTINEL REPORTER even after he was rude to a polite speaker at the Breakfast. Maybe because my family had grounded in me a deep love of the country and a deep love of service to the country, I saw through that. Now, my roommate is a person you should interview for this. If I remember correctly, when I was a cadet, everyone had to study fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, electrical engineeringthese were the sort of core engineering sciences that everyone had to take, as I rememberlong time ago. He was for several weeks President Donald Trump 's nominee for United States Secretary of the Army, before withdrawing from consideration. And fast forward to the summer now of our Cow Year, into our first of yearnow, you have to remember, the First Class year of a cadet is so phenomenally anticipated and so waited for, because, obviously, its your last year at the Academy. I think there was my company, A4, and one other company that didnt have anyone in it questioned. Did you havedid your family have an Army background at all? TRD Staff. Dan Christensen Runnersrunners and clerks, and my neighborhood had a good amount of runners and low-level Wall Street professionals. Yep. I cannot be around this. And I came from a very cloistered neighborhoodnonetheless, we were much the same as the rest of America, especially uneducated, lower middle class, and upper lower class areas. Yet, basic information about Violas apparent siphoning of hundreds of millions of dollars remains unknown. Yes. They would wear khaki uniforms, and they were called the speed battalion or the speed company. In December . 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