Age: 32
Managing Director/COO, Cornerstone Business Services, Inc.
Cameron Karlen says one of his college professors, Kevin Spellman, helped encourage him to keep going with some simple words scribbled at the top of one of his reports: “Wow — are you sure you don’t want to be an analyst?”
That moment of kindness “ultimately helped set me on the career path I enjoy today,” says Karlen, who prior to joining Cornerstone in August 2023 worked for Wipfli in its valuation and investment banking departments.
Right out of college, the Greenville native joined Wipfli’s Milwaukee office. He transferred to the Appleton office when he and his wife, Sarah, were expecting their second child.
Karlen earned the chartered financial analyst (CFA) designation from the CFA Institute in 2020, and he’s also a licensed investment banker.
Best advice received: The best advice I’ve ever received was not through words or catchy phrases, but through the quiet example of my father and his father, who, day in and day out put their heads down, worked hard, sacrificed, provided for their family and loved their wives. That example has stuck with me, and I hope I can live in such a way that passes the same example on to my children.
Hardest lesson: Losing my mom last summer taught me a hard but important lesson about being present and making the most of the time we have with the people we love. Phrases like “next week” or “not tonight” can come far too easily. That feels harmless in the moment, until the opportunity is gone and you realize how much you would give to have those ordinary moments back with someone you love.
Hobby: One hobby that has stuck over the years is wiffleball. About 11 years ago, my brother-in-law and I built a wiffleball field that we still use today. It has become a fun tradition, hosting weekly games and biannual tournaments that bring together family and friends. Recently, for his bachelor party, we took this tradition to the rentable field in front of American Family Field.
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