A cosmopolite who is erudite and witty, and wears a close-cropped beard with distinction, Frank Werber was a San Franciscan by choice when his path crossed that of three young men singing in a Stanford University off-campus student drinking spa.

The ensuing success of The Kingston Trio is history now, but it is interesting to note that the management of their affairs from inception has been the reason significant to their overwhelming success and achievement of economic freedom. Today, guided by the extremely competent advice of the trio's legal and financial counsel, Frank heads up a vast empire of business enterprises in which the trio is involved - a network of interests whose headquarters are two entire floors in a San Francisco office building, the Columbus Tower, which they own.

Kingston Trio, Inc., managed exclusively by Frank Werber, is a multi-million dollar business encompassing such activities as artist management, the production and presentation of new recording talent, record promotion, recording studio management, real estate and land development, restaurant and night club supervision, control of publishing companies, sale and distribution of sheet music and song books, television and all personal appearances, as well as the production of new shows, plus many other equally diversified domestic and international enterprises.

Frank's almost "fanatical" desire for perfection has brought about his involvement in and supervision of all these developments. Since under his guidance, not only has the trio grown artistically in stature, but their show business earnings have been carefully invested in a myriad of enterprises. His field of responsibility increases continuously, making it necessary for him to possess not only a flair for creative showmanship, but the business acumen of a Montgomery Street financier, and foremost, the ability to comprehend and guide the various functions of each new corporate activity.

Frank's long range financial planing can best be evidenced in the latest corporate endeavor - together with Decca Records and Universal Pictures. In one move, Trident was established as an independent record producing company, recording not only The Kingston Trio but many other worthwhile artists as well. He then negotiated the sale of Kingston Trio albums with Decca Records as sole exclusive distributor , and subsequently, from Universal, obtained many motion picture and television guarantees that will insure The Kingston Trio's success for many years to come.

His artistic flair can best be evidenced in The Trident, the aesthetically pleasant restaurant-night club on the Sausalito waterfront. The atmosphere, view and menu make it not only a place favored by the cosmopolites of the Bay Area but a "must see" spot for visitors from all over the world.

So we find that whatever Frank Werber is, he is above all a manager. His total dedication is to his associates, to their careers and their public at large. Unlike many managers who rely heavily on several teams of specialists, he is the "new breed of executive" who is both financial manager as well as artistic advisor.

Frank Werber's real life story in a sense does contain suspenseful elements and seeds that somehow foretell the unrivaled success he today enjoys. Born in Cologne, Germany, he arrived in the United States in 1941, after having lived in most of the countries of Europe and spending one year under the tension of life in a concentration camp. His escape to freedom is a story stranger than fiction itself . . . one that has yet to be told. Immediately after Frank graduated from high school he joined the Navy, served as an aviation photographer and later as a midshipman. After the war he attended The American Academy of Art in Chicago and the University of Colorado. Perhaps as a result of his experiences as a refugee, combined with the perverse impatience of most veterans, Frank became restless and soon was on the move again working in a variety of unrelated occupations as commercial artist, gold minor, cab driver, horse rancher, ski lift operator, construction worker and press photographer.

San Francisco, which first stirred his imagination during his service stint, beckoned him again. Only this time when he arrived, his total resources amounted to a mere fifteen cents. After a few months of a hand to mouth existence, he unexpectedly met "Enrico" (Banducci) and found himself involved in the night club business. He was soon not only in building and managing the now famous Hungry "i", but through his public relations efforts, he was instrumental in nationalizing it's image. After serving an interesting four year apprenticeship Frank looked for greener pastures. So he opened his own public relations office.

Soon thereafter, he happened upon a group of young college students whose main occupation and therapy seemed to revolve about singing for the sheer enjoyment of entertaining themselves, and anyone who happened to be about. He signed them to a management contract. Then, in quest of perfection, he rehearsed the group over and over and over. Frank blueprinted every movement, every detail. Each session was evaluated. The act adjusted, changes made. And soon, The Kingston Trio was signed to a month long engagement at the Purple Onion in San Francisco. They stayed nine months, and through hard work and continuous checking and guidance, they emerged a unique and sophisticated act, ready and destined to explode into national prominence with the advent of "Tom Dooley."

Although Frank's main drive seems to be his enterprises, his interests are certainly not limited to work alone. He derives great joy from his photography, and his past experience has provided him with a deftness, skill and sensitivity that is reflected in many of The Kingston Trio's pictures. He has an inordinate love of the outdoors, and it is not uncommon to find Frank on his Honda wandering through the back hills of Marin County where he is in the process of building his dream house high on a mountain overlooking all, and surrounded by the nature he loves. Skin diving has been one of his favorite sports, and for years he has been going to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - there, not only to dive in the tropical waters, but to find calm and peace and restore his energies lounging on the secluded tropical beaches. Sailing the Shearwater, his sixty foot Alden Ketch, is one of his favorite pastimes, and weather it is on San Francisco Bay or tropical Mexican waters, it's the kind therapy that Frank cherishes most.

Snow skiing, collecting objects of art and gourmet cooking round out his main interests. That is, until he was smitten by the racing bug. Initial intrigued with a 300 SL which he completely restored, he drifted through auto crosses and hill climbs in his Ferrari to actual competition driving which has really dominated his interests for the past year. Frank's first year brought into his office and amazing collection of trophies and checkered flags, but he will soon be racing his Lotus 23B no longer for pleasure alone, as his weekend interest has developed into a serious and interesting business venture known as Marin Racing Machines, Inc. MRM, which he started together with ex-Jag team mechanic, Rick Coggin, and ex-Gran Prix driver, Tony Settember, is not only a first class garage and race shop, but will soon be building for public sale their own car designed by England's famous car designer, John Tojeiro, the latest partner to join the family.

But what of the inner Man? Even to the people who are closest to him, Frank Werber seems enigmatic - a contradiction. Even though on the surface he seemingly is an uncomplicated man, the essences of his chemistry and psychological makeup are uncommon. At times he can be a recluse, jealously guarding his own private world, and then again a very gregarious, outgoing person. He is only completely happy when he is deeply involved in a creative pursuit, and is continuously seeking new worlds to conquer. He is an absolute perfectionist and cannot stand involvement with anything second rate. He is a very independent individual who demands and returns complete honesty. His word is his bond and he abhors liars, evaders or fabricators of any sort. He demands punctuality, yet is perhaps the worst offender! He is extremely aware and possesses an acute sense of perception making him a very kind and thoughtful person; yet at the same time, he completely smothers his friends and employees with his "Way of thinking." And while he can be extremely charming to those he likes and respects, he has cultivated some strong enemies by the fact that he has no time or patients for non-productive or non-thinking people.

But even to the people who know him best, Frank Werber is more like an iceberg afloat at sea with ninety percent of his makeup below the surface, as yet unrevealed to anyone, perhaps not even to Frank himself.