READY TO ROCK `N' ROLL

It was 1989 and Marc McIntosh was trying to impress his client, Louisianabased Century Telephone Enterprises. At the time, McIntosh was 32 and a vice president in corporate finance at Goldman, Sachs & Co., generally regarded as one of Wall Street's premier firms. His specialty was public offerings, private placements and advanced financings for electrical utilities, natural gas and telecommunications companies.

And then the unexpected happened. His efforts not only impressed the client, but won over his competitor--PaineWebber Group Inc.--as well. The firm made McIntosh an offer he says he couldn't refuse.

In October 1989, McIntosh became senior adviser to Century Telephone and a host of other telecommunications companies as a PaineWebber managing director and head of the firm's 12-member Telecommunications Group.

A graduate of the Harvard Business School and De Paul University in Chicago, McIntosh recently led a $115 million convertible debenture offering for Century Telephone. His group also advised Boca Raton, Fla's, Computer Products Inc. on its acquisition of Heurikon Corp., a Madison, Wisc.-based computer board company.

As of early 1991, McIntosh also heads a small Latin American group, which acts as investment adviser to several Mexican clients such as Banobras, an agency of the Mexican government, Grupo Dina and Commercial de Mexico.

Although McIntosh must oversee the execution of all his groups' transactions--which include equity and debt financings as well as mergers and acquisitions-- the role he relishes most is that of drumming up new business for the firm and expanding its telecommunications and Latin American client bases. He explains: "I'm the guy who's marketing and selling our firm, our products, our services. I'm out there."

Wearing a Nicole Miller tie--a Christmas gift from a client--and a shirt with starched French cuffs, the tall and dapper McIntosh insists that clothes may not make the man. But, nothing can be less than best when winning a new client is at stake--"espec ially if you're black and young," he says. "You want to walk into [a presentation] looking great, with lots of polish, ready to rock `n' roll." To stay in shape, alert and quick to respond, McIntosh enjoys scuba diving, a sport he learned three years ago at New York's Downtown Athletic Club.

A director on the boards of the Greater New York Council of Boy Scouts of America, the Chicago native who spent his teen years in Evanston, III., says he dreams of one day teaching business "to the toughest class at the toughest high school in the South Bronx," and encouraging more black and Hispanic youths to jump into the financial arena.

Looking back on his career, McIntosh concedes that his decision to leave Goldman Sachs was a tough but smart choice. "Goldman Sachs is like the Marine Corps--very cautious, very guarded, but amazingly good at what they do," he explains. But switching firms meant making a choice "between being a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a medium pond." Having made that choice, McIntosh adds with confidence, "I've never regretted it."

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