Investment company CEO’s advice: Follow golden rule

Michael Sablan Coleman, who spoke during the 2014 Saipan Chamber of Commerce Installation Dinner last Jan. 24, said if there’s one piece of advice he can dispense to his fellow islanders, it is to follow the golden rule: “One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.”

Michael Sablan Coleman holds up an old photo of the opening of the Saipan Intercontinental Hotel in 1979 even as a photo of his grandfather, David “Uncle Dave” M. Sablan is shown on the projector screen during the 2014 Saipan Chamber of Commerce Installation Dinner last Jan. 24 at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan. (Mark Rabago)

The grandson of the late Peter Tali Coleman, the former Deputy High Commissioner of the Trust Territory, and David “Uncle Dave” M. Sablan, corporate consultant for Century Insurance Co. and former Chamber president, said it is that maxim that has guided him to the success he enjoys now as CEO of Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc., an investment brokerage firm in Glendale, California.

Aside from practicing the golden rule, Coleman said he always makes sure that happiness reigns in everything he does at work.

He said he always considers himself an islander, having spent the first two years of his life on Saipan. His parents settled in Seattle but he eventually wound up in Los Angeles, then Boston, then Los Angeles again as he straddled both coasts of the U.S. mainland.

Coleman initially worked for a computer company before choosing to do some volunteer work. He would find himself back in the technology industry before being hired by an advertising company where he rose to become senior vice president.

Despite his success, Coleman wasn’t happy with the 100 hours a week he was logging at this demanding job. He quit before joining the investment firm that he now heads.

On being the grandson of Uncle Dave and the former deputy high commissioner, Coleman said the honor is not lost on him.

“It’s an honor and a great honor. One of the things that everybody wants is to leave a legacy. Remember the good things they’ve done in their lives and if you look at both my grandfathers…I feel they created a tremendous legacy.”

He reminisced that he was on island when the former Saipan Intercontinental Hotel was opened back in 1979 and he had sepia photos to prove it, which he gamely showed to the audience using a slide projector.

Coleman said Saipan has progressed since he was last on island in the late 1990s as fresh-faced college graduate.

“It seems like so long ago. I was here fresh out of college. To come back here the way it is now is an entirely different experience. I do plan to come here all time. I want to be able to do what I can to help the community,” he said.