Chris Ullman: frontman puts on quite an act

Profile: Chris Ullman is the head of global communications for the US asset management company Carlyle Group, but he is perhaps more widely known for his whistling.

Illustration: Chris Burke for The National

The sight of powerful men performing incongruous activities fascinates us: think of the former US president Bill Clinton's saxophone sessions, or Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin's judo displays.

Strategy Middle East is a headliner

The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region plays an important role in the Carlyle Group’s global strategy, Chris Ullman says.

“We have an established presence in Mena via our Dubai office, and very important relationships there,” says Mr Ullman.

In 2007, Mubadala took a 7.5 per cent stake in Carlyle for an estimated US$1.35 billion (Dh4.95bn), and last December invested $500 million in the US group.

“We want a shared deal flow with Mubadala, and have a relationship of constructive interaction with them,” Mr Ullman says. “We are also honoured to have been asked to invest money on behalf of Mubadala.”

Frank Kane

It humanises, taking them out of the context of realpolitik and into the everyday; it often generates more media attention than any number of policy statements or economic pronouncements.

Though of a different order from Clinton and Putin, Chris Ullman, the head of global communications for the huge American investment outfit Carlyle Group, also has a little sideline he likes to display on occasions: he is a world-class whistler.

Mr Ullman whistles for presidents, chief executives and entire American football crowds.

He whistles Beethoven, jazz and American standards. He has whistled his way to four world championships, and has performed with 10 symphony orchestras.

When he's not whistling, the 48-year-old New Yorker is helping mould the global public relations image of the US$153 billion (Dh561.99bn) Carlyle, which has a big presence in the Middle East.

Chris Ulman: The Happy Whistler

He has no doubts about the corporate benefits of his extra-curricular activities: "I think my whistling shows people that Carlyle is multidimensional. The day job is serious, managing billions of dollars around the world, but we are also human. It shows we're not serious all the time and, if anything, helps us do our day job better."

His whistling skills have certainly racked up plenty of column inches and hours of airtime, to the obvious satisfaction and benefit of Carlyle. He has had numerous TV appearances and interviews, and newspapers have been quick to seize on the quirky juxtaposition of the mighty Carlyle and a whistler in a bow tie, his habitual neckwear.

Just recently, The New York Times wrote up his "lip-based lyricism" under the tag line "beneath the suit, a melodic champion". He has used his whistling skills as a complement to his professional expertise as a communicator. "I do coms for a living, but I'm able to take whistling as a positive thing too," Mr Ullman says.

His father was his initial inspiration, whistling snatches from Gilbert and Sullivan operettas around their Long Island home, and he branched into jazz during college.

The first of four gold medals in the International Whistling Championships came in 1994, and there were three others before 2000, when "professional and family demands took over".

Since then, apart from a stint as a judge for the championships in 2007, he has not competed, but promises that another shot at the world title is on the cards: "It's been a spell, but I'd like to go back again one day."

If he does, it will probably be as the best-connected whistler in history.

In June 2001, he was working in Washington DC as a spokesman at the office of management and budget for president George W Bush, and got an unexpected call to the White House.

The president had heard of his whistling and wanted a personal performance. In the Oval Office, in front of Mr Bush and vice president Dick Cheney, Mr Ullman performed a set that included Beethoven, Duke Ellington and the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

He met Mr Cheney again recently, and though they had not met since that time 10 years ago, "Cheney totally remembered the occasion, and said how great it was", says Mr Ullman.

"I've performed for all three branches of the US government, the president, the supreme court and for Congress. In a partisan town like Washington, it's nice to be able to do something that cuts across all that, that just everybody likes."

Meanwhile, Carlyle was slowly changing. Set up in 1987 with the mission "to invest wisely and create value", the private equity firm was in the top three for global rankings of assets under management.

It has got there by way of shrewd investment expertise coupled with a reputation for having one of the best contact books among the rich and powerful. Statesmen such as the former British prime minister John Major and James Baker, a former US secretary of state, were among its board of influential advisers, able to open doors anywhere in the world.

"Those kinds of people played an important role in helping us understand particular global markets and also gave us credibility, but since around 2005, we've looked more at strategic and operational expertise, with people like Lou Gerstner [a former chief executive of the computer giant IBM]. He's one of the most accomplished CEOs in the world and is a great asset."

Carlyle is run by its three founders, Bill Conway, Daniel D'Aniello and David Rubenstein, with 500 investment executives around the world specialising in private equity investment.

It invests across the board but has grown a reputation for expertise in aerospace, defence and government sectors. It also invests in fund-of-fund strategies and, more recently, hedge funds.

With regard to the current volatile financial and economic situation, Mr Ullman says: "We are closely monitoring the 200 companies we own round the world, but whether in growth mode or caution mode, we will work with management to help them optimise value."

But back to the whistling. As his prowess became known in the company and elsewhere, Mr Ullman found his services in greater demand than ever.

"We recently had a series of presentations to senior executives, and when my turn came I was introduced as four-times world champion. I gave my presentation, but then they asked me to whistle. I gave them Stars and Stripes Forever, which I think impressed them. It added a humanising factor, and the event was a great success," he recalls.

On top of such work-related activity, Mr Ullman has developed a line in freelance performances that have included the Star-Spangled Banner at big baseball games in front of thousands of people, TV appearances and a CD recording, including his favourite piece of classical music, Mozart's oboe concerto.

"It's a great tune, but very complex. It took years to get it right."

He also does about 150 performances of Happy Birthday per year, often for relatives of Carlyle employees.

"I did five in a day just the other day," he says.

When not working or whistling, he is a husband and father of three children under 10, as well as a keen cyclist and carpenter.

"It taps into a different side of my brain," he explains.

His main goal in life, he says, is "keeping my wife happy", but there is another unfulfilled ambition. "I haven't had an invitation from President Obama yet, but would delight in the opportunity to perform at the White House again."