Our History
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. 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.
In 2008, Dr. Kathryn
Scanland became the sole owner of Greystone Global LLC, allowing its
founder, Jim Heynen, to focus his efforts on what he truly enjoys: consulting and clients.