Managing health and wealth often have similarities – the need for detailed planning, setting short and long term goals, considering family needs as well as your own, understanding of rules and regulations…the list of parallels goes on and on.  It was therefore a natural evolution for Catharine to join CornerCap following a 20 year career in healthcare marketing.  Throughout her career as a healthcare marketer, Catharine continually nurtured her passion for financial planning and investment management, learning a great deal about the various wealth accumulation opportunities that exist in both corporate and small business career pathways from real world experience.  She now applies these learnings and Millionaire Next Door philosophy by helping individuals in various stages of wealth accumulation to achieve their personal and family goals with the Frame Your Picture^TM approach.

Education

• BA, English and French – The University of Georgia
• MBA, Marketing – Georgia State University / Northwestern University

Why did you choose to join CornerCap?

After 20 years of working in large corporations, I was drawn to CornerCap because of its entrepreneurial spirit.  From the founders to the newest members of the team, every individual working at CornerCap is inspired to constantly seek better ways of serving clients and new ways of optimizing portfolio management.  The entrepreneurial spirit on which CornerCap was founded three decades ago is alive and well today.

How do you encourage clients to frame their financial picture?

One of my favorite parts of introducing new clients to CornerCap is helping them find the right personality match with our team of very talented advisors.  Money is such a personal topic, and trust is a critical part of any relationship where money is involved. When a client connects with an advisor on personal as well as professional levels, a productive relationship takes root immediately that makes it easier for clients to articulate their financial vision.

What was your first job, and how did it influence your ultimate career path?

The Monday after high school graduation, I started work as a bank teller at Wachovia. That job was foundational to every next step in my career – teaching me the core principles of customer service and business operations that I applied to every other role on my marketing career path.

What’s been the highlight of your career to date?

While working in the pharmaceutical industry, I had the privilege of bringing to market a drug that sustains the lives of people living with cystic fibrosis (CF).  For nearly a decade, I worked closely with the CF community and was touched by the stories of families raising funds to cure the disease, which had a life expectancy of mid-30s at the time.  To this day, I celebrate every therapeutic breakthrough that happens in the CF community and am proud to see life expectancy increasing year after year until a full cure is found.