Video conferencing connects offices far away

Stocks were down again, but nobody mentioned the market around the conference table in St. Petersburg. Or the one in Rochester, N.Y. The morning's discussion was deliberately long range, focusing on nanotechnology, electric cars and whether democracy is losing ground on the world political stage. "We're trying to tee things up so we can invest next year to make money in 2011 and 2012," said Jeff Herrmann, St. Petersburg-based research director for Manning & Napier Advisors. Thanks to the video conferencing system, he soon was swapping ideas with analyst Michael Knolla in Rochester.

Meetings like this are regular fare at the company, which manages about $19-billion for clients such as retirement plans, foundations and wealthy individuals. Most of Manning & Napier's 250 employees work in its Rochester headquarters, but 10 have settled into a downtown St. Petersburg high-rise outpost. They team up with their Rochester counterparts to focus on topics such as consumer products, health care, "global strategies" or long-range themes like clean technology.

"We wanted to have a second research office because we wanted to offer something different from Rochester," said Herrmann, who opened the office four years ago. He said he looked for a city along the Eastern seaboard that would give the company a recruiting advantage. St. Petersburg won out with its sunshine, proximity to a major airport and professional sports, reasonably priced housing and the absence of a state income tax.

Technology makes the arrangement work despite the more than 1,000 miles of separation. Their communication tools include video conferencing and a "wiki," an internal Web site type on which they share opinions and information.

"Ten years ago, video conferencing was an adventure, but today the quality is far better," said managing director Chuck Stamey. The conference table on the screen almost appears to be an extension of the one in the room. The system features a large screen that can be split to display a PowerPoint presentation on one side and the analysts on the other. Although it was state-of-the-art when it was installed in 2004, the system is scheduled to replaced next year with a system using dual LCD screens.

Helen Huntley can be reached at hhuntley@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8230.