www.ceotodaymagazine.com EXECUTIVE INSIGHT What inspired you and brought you to your current position and career path? Raised in a small midwestern town by two hard-working parents, I was instilled with the values of diligence and integrity that they modelled. My mother was a successful small business owner, and my father ran his own private practice as an attorney. Watching each grow their respective businesses brought me a great sense of pride and inspiration from their clientele, who looked to them for advice and counsel. While I wasn’t sure exactly the direction in which I wanted to take my career at the time, the importance of serving others was my true north. This type of inspiration is essential when growing up in a small town, where the most exciting thing to do was attend our High School’s football game. With limited exposure to the outside world, I yearned to take the values of my upbringing and challenge myself to make my mark in the world. With my High School diploma in hand and a packed car with all of my belongings, I embarked on a new chapter and headed west, beginning my college career at Arizona State University. It was there that I found my first love — Arizona. The wide outdoors invited me in with endless mountains, canyons and deserts to explore; the weather moved me with each passing cloud. But most important was the people, an inviting melting pot, with flavors and inspirations imported across the country. It wasn’t exactly as laid back as the West Coast, less hardened than the East Coast, and not as familiar as the Midwest. The mosaic of culture that felt just right, and a bit of all parts of the country, collectively, quickly felt like home. What challenges have you run into in this process, and how did you overcome them? I arrived at ASU confident that I would pursue pre-law and political science, and secured the coveted internship as a senator’s aide to the Honorable Dennis DeConcini. Although I enjoyed serving for him and the Government while in school, I discovered that law, nor politics, was the path destined for me. I discovered a book while perusing my campus library: Values-Based Selling by Bill Bachrach. I devoured the book, fascinated by each page about the importance of building high-trust client relationships. Charged with inspiration, I decided to follow a road less travelled, certainly diverting from the path that I had laid for myself. I embarked on a journey to discover what was important to people and how to help them make smart choices with their money. This was the direction for me. I began building a traditional wealth management practice in 1993, boasting more than 200 clients, which I transformed into a seven-figure business. I had found success, yet found my attention spread too thin to deliver the absolute potential for each account I oversaw. The fire that ignited my passion for wealth management ultimately left me burned out, and knew I had to pivot to a more sustainable model. I believe longevity is a pinnacle of money management; short-term earnings pale in comparison to long-term wealth, growth and financial security. With 26 years of wealth management under my belt, I sold my business and embarked on my next adventure. Although I had amassed far more than the High School degree, teeshirts and posters that filled my first car when I embarked for Arizona, I prepared for my new venture with the passion and values rooted in my Midwestern upbringing. Now armed with decades of lessons, experience, and confidence on my path that were beyond my younger self’s wildest imagination— and, most importantly, the support of my incredible wife and three wonderful children—I was ready with a new, radical idea. I retained a select handful of carefully selected clients, intimate by design, impassioned to help overachiever families reach their goals. Can you tell us about The Wright Family Foundation? My family sold our business after 26 years and created the Wright 40
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