Trump's 'Ice Queen Carolyn' won't be fired
By Heather Salerno
Westchester (N.Y.) Journal News
BRIARCLIFF MANOR, N.Y. — Just outside Carolyn Kepcher's office at Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor, a small television is tuned to "Live with Regis and Kelly."
Onscreen, Kepcher's boss — The Donald himself — is bopping around with Regis Philbin and Usher, to the thumping beats of the R&B singer's hot new single, "Yeah."
Fans of NBC's "The Apprentice" (Thursdays, 8 p.m.) know the show has boosted the mogul's already high profile and made celebrities of the 16 candidates vying for a six-figure job with his organization.
Much to Kepcher's amazement, she's also become a breakout star, as the no-nonsense executive VP who helps Trump select who'll hear that infamous catch phrase: "You're fired!"
"I stand by every decision," she says. "I think every decision was perfect."
On "The Apprentice," Kepcher and senior counsel George Ross observe the contestants and report back to Trump, whom they flank in the boardroom as he axes one person each week.
Off-camera, Kepcher, 35, is a 10-year Trump veteran and chief operating officer for the Trump National Golf Clubs in Briarcliff and in Bedminster, N.J. She lives in Ridgefield, Conn., with husband George and children Connor, 3 and Cassidy, 19 months.
Kepcher says her relatives and friends are dying to get the inside scoop on the series' conclusion. "All of the family knows not to ask me any questions about it. But it's so easy for me not to reveal anything," she says.
Kepcher is a loyal soldier, refusing to even hint at possible scenarios in Thursday's live, two-hour finale, in which finalists Bill Rancic and Kwame Jackson will vie for that job in Trump's organization.
One thing is safe to assume: Kepcher will retain the cool, unsmiling demeanor that's earned her the nickname "Ice Queen Carolyn."
"Is that me in business? Yeah, it is," she says with a shrug. "But basically, I just pick up on the obvious. Our jobs were to go in and point out the flaws."
During the early weeks, when the applicants were split by gender, Kepcher and Trump blasted the all-female Protege team for using sex appeal to advance.
"The first time they did it at the lemonade stand, I thought, 'Hooray for you,'" Kepcher says. "But it got to be too much of relying on that to win. ... How were those women going to stand a chance if all we really remembered about them is that they were begging in their negotiations and that they were good-looking?"
Trump first spied Kepcher's talent when he was negotiating the purchase of the Briarcliff property. Kepcher, then 25, was running the bankrupt club for a management company.
"I noticed right off that she had great management skills, and I was proven right," Trump says. "She's portrayed (on the show) as she is — very smart, somewhat stoic. She doesn't give up her cards easily. She'd be a great poker player. She's hard to read."
She hopes that "The Apprentice 2," which starts shooting in May and is scheduled to air this fall, shows off more of her famous employer's soft side.
"People don't see him the way that we get to see him, which is a shame, because he's a great person," she says. "Don't get me wrong. He's tough, he's demanding, he'll kind of drive you nuts at times. But I'm here 10 years, and most of his employees have been here for a long period of time. We're loyal employees and we're here for a reason."
