Bruce Kopp/Eyewitness News Carmel, Dec. 18, 2002 - For years, many had wondered how Conseco could thrive, considering the large sums it paid top company officials.
The man who founded the company made millions along the way, while Conseco stock holders would reap the benefits during the company heydays.
If anyone personified wealth in Indianapolis over the last twenty years, Stephen Hilbert was the picture of prosperity. His gains at Conseco would leverage a luxurious lifestyle. His sprawling estate, with its pool, art collections, gardens, even an indoor basketball court. He and wife Tomisue were regulars on the party circuit.
The Hilbert name would find its way to area landmarks, as Hilbert and Conseco shared the wealth with the community, contributing millions to local organizations.
He founded Conseco with ten-thousand dollars in 1979. From 1988-to-1998 Conseco enjoyed a decade of financial achievement with stock gains averaging nearly fifty-percent annually.
But it was the acquisition of Green Tree Financial in 1998 that turned the tide on Conseco, and Hilbert’s career as well. In April of 2000 he would resign, with the stock price worth one-tenth of its value just two years before.
“I think my personality became somewhat bigger than the company,” Hilbert said. “And I wanted more focus on the company and the tremendous fundamentals we have in place. It is time in my opinion to have someone else take it to the next level.”
Gary Wendt would eventually take over for Hilbert.
But even as he left Conseco, Hilbert believed that somehow the company could make a turnaround. “I felt that this was the time to get someone else in place at the helm, and with the management team I’ve put in place,” Hilbert said. “I mean, one thing that Conseco's been recognized as not only being innovative, not only doing things differently than others in the financial services sector -- but really having the best management team in the industry. And you know once we divest of Conseco Finance, I think you're going to see the same type of results for shareholders.”
Today, Hilbert is Chairman of the Board for Haverstick Consulting in Carmel , which advises business on how to use technology to improve their products and services.