McColl, Moynihan attend Arts & Science Council event

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan was in town this week, hobnobbing with other movers and shakers at a private Arts & Science Council event Tuesday night.

Held at North Carolina Dance Theater, the invitation-only dinner was also attended by former Bank of America CEO Hugh McColl and his wife, Jane, who were the hosts.

According to the council, which provided details on the event to the Observer at the newspaper’s request, the dinner was for donors and supporters of the Charlotte-based organization.

Among the other attendees: Leon and Sandra Levine, of Family Dollar fame; Tim Belk, CEO of department store Belk; businessman “Dick” Spangler and his wife, Meredith; and Mayor Anthony Foxx and his wife, Samara.

Charles Bowman, Bank of America’s market president for North Carolina and Charlotte, was also there.

Pat Cotham, who chairs the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners, in an interview with the Observer said violinists from the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra gave a performance, and the president of the dance theater spoke about the arts in Charlotte. McColl told the room that he wasn’t asking for money for the arts, but just wanted to thank those who supported them, Cotham said, adding that Moynihan and McColl sat together.

In an email to the Observer, she described the conversation she had with Moynihan. Below are excerpts from her email:

“I joked about my being a longtime Bank of America customer. He smiled and thanked me for being a customer. He seemed to know I was an elected official. He asked how things were going, and I told him I was asking a lot of questions, and he said that was what I needed to do.

“I told him I work for the people and I wanted them to know we were working toward improving efficiency. He asked me how much was the budget for the county. I told him around $1.4B, and he smiled, and I said I knew he was used to much bigger numbers but the budget was taxpayers' dollars so that was very important, and he agreed, saying something like 'You have to watch out for the taxpayers.'

“He wished me luck, and that was about it. He was very nice. He seemed to be hanging with Hugh. Good choice.”