Our History

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Greystone entered our history when one of our founders, A. (“Jim”) James Heynen, created a one-person firm in the summer of 1984. The name was suggested by friends, mostly as a joke. “‘Greystone’ sounds historic,” they said, “and you’ve just started. Add ‘group’ because you’re working alone.” He took their advice and incorporated the business as The Greystone Group, Inc.

Over the years Greystone evolved into a substantial consulting firm. It was shaped to Heynen’s personal interests and training: organizational theory, communication, problem solving, public policy, crisis resolution. Clients ranged from General Motors and the United Auto Workers to colleges, universities, finance and insurance companies, governments, philanthropies and public policy leaders.

Greystone’s home office was in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but the client base was continually expanding. In 1997 a second fully staffed office was opened in Rosslyn, Virginia, across the Potomac from Washington DC, headed by the Honorable Steve Gunderson who had just retired from elected office after 16 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. Several years later a third office was added, this time in downtown Chicago, led by Dr. Kathryn Scanland.

In 2003, Greystone’s ownership changed hands when Heynen sold 100% of the stock. In late 2005 Mr. Gunderson left to become president and chief executive officer of the Council on Foundations in Washington DC. Two months later, Heynen, Scanland and other Greystone colleagues – with the clients they were serving at that time – left the original company to launch Greystone Global, LLC.

Re-creating Greystone allowed us to reflect on the past and prepare for the future. In the course of that reflection, the name “Greystone Global” was chosen. It intends to capture where we’ve been and what we’ve done in the past; thus, we begin with “Greystone.” But it also reflects what has changed during the years of our history: Our world has grown small and intimate. We are, because our world is, global. Our colleagues know how fully interconnected the world has become, how thoroughly “7/24/365” is the reality of our clients. Whether we are serving a client in the Midwestern U.S. or in the Republic of Zambia in Southern Africa, in higher education or in manufacturing – we know that imagination, competition, knowledge and leadership have little respect for national borders.

We are Greystone Global LLC: A small group of professionals serving clients worldwide.

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