Home: Hinsdale, IL. Birthplace: Cleveland, OH. Organization: ALTI Financial. Title: Executive Chairman. Significant other: My wife, Katherine M. Behrens. Alma mater: University of Illinois, Chicago.
Latest contribution to others: A charitable gift to Circle Urban. What’s been your big (or biggest leap)? At the age of 38, earning my first CEO role. Hobbies: Golf, gardening, travel, and attending home Cubs games. Recent travel or adventure: Scotland and Ireland to play golf. Last book read: From Strength to Strength, by Arthur C. Brooks.
Personality profile: Approachable, trustworthy, dedicated, hardworking, and disciplined. What one word would your closest friend use to describe you? Leader. Moral compass: To do what’s right, not easy. How do you define a perfect friendship? Regardless of time passed, the conversations pick right back up where they left off. How do you define an ideal business relationship? Where you work as a team, share what’s going well and what is not. What is your guilty pleasure? Raw chocolate chip cookie dough. What occupation, other than your own, do you most admire? Teachers.
What was your first paying job? Mowing lawns in my neighborhood. What was your favorite college course? Statistics. What was your favorite childhood toy or game? Playing golf. What book have you repeatedly read? The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick Lencioni. What movie have you repeatedly watched? Top Gun: Maverick. What’s the best advice you received growing up? When you’re winning, keep your mouth shut! What’s the best advice you received in your career? Every day you wake-up, you have a new job: to be better than the day before.
What message do you want to send out into the world?
To get something you never had, you must do something you never did.
What mega-trend most excites you? The use of AI. What mega-trend most concerns you? Just the same.
What title would you choose for the movie about your life? True Grit. What actor would you choose to play you in the movie about your life? George Clooney. Who would you like to spend an evening with, in heaven? Abraham Lincoln. As a kid, what did you first want to be when you grew up? Shortstop for the Chicago Cubs. After your loved ones, what object would you first save from your burning home? Pictures of my loved ones. How would you choose to spend tomorrow, if you knew it was your last day on earth? With my family, on the beach having dinner and sharing stories. What advice would you give your younger self? Life doesn’t get any easier, you just get stronger.
Personal mission: Control your own destiny or someone else will. Personal motto: Don’t tell people your plans; let the results speakfor themselves. Favorite quote: “Face reality as it is, not as it was or you wish it were” (Jack Welch). Desired epitaph: A life lived…there are no dollar $igns in the cemetary!
