My Favorite Cigar
Jimmy Dunne • Investment Banker
Cohiba Robusto
Jimmy Dunne became forever linked with 9/11 for his determined response to the terrorist attack that killed 66 Sandler O’Neill employees who worked for the firm on the 104th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. He focused on the families left behind, paying bonuses, setting up scholarships, keeping Sandler O’Neill alive.
He spoke this summer at his alma mater, Notre Dame, introduced by the university’s president, John Jenkins, who said: “Class of 2021, in the past 14 months life has thrown your way trying circumstances and heartbreaking disappointment. I cannot think of a better speaker for this class than Jimmy Dunne, who faced daunting challenges and true heartbreak, and prevailed.” Dunne told the graduates: “If we were not honorable, then we stood for nothing . . . So our attitude was, we are going to make brave decisions. If we fail, we fail. If we lose everything, we lose everything. But that’s what we’re going to do, especially for the children of our friends.”
Dunne turns 65 in October, and he recently moved to Florida. He puffs on the course and in his pool house. “I have always found the occasional good cigar to be relaxing and good for the diet.”
