Managing Partner, Northwestern Mutual
Website: westvirginia.nm.com
Facebook: facebook.com/northwesternmutualwv
LinkedIn: Wesley Richardson, CFP ®
Written by Maggie Matsko
For Wesley Richardson, the managing partner at Northwestern Mutual, business savvy came naturally at a young age. Despite dreams of other professions, once he was bitten by the business bug, his path was set.
“Growing up, I wanted to be a doctor,” says Richardson. “During high school, I became really interested in business after starting Spotted Frog Designs, a t-shirt and graphic design company, with my best friend, Joe Eddins. Eventually, I realized business was a better fit for me.”
Richardson was blessed to have several people in his life who helped him reach his full potential and find success. “Both my father and stepfather were in the financial services industry, and they helped me lay the foundation for what I do today,” he says. “My father, in particular, was a huge help early on in my career and continues to be. While my grandfather taught me a lot about the stock market, it was when my friend, Michael Fox, offered me an internship with his financial planning group in Charlotte, NC, the year before my senior year in college that I got hooked. Tom Wilmink sparked my interest in joining Northwestern Mutual as a financial planner right after college, and he has been a mentor to me ever since.”
After choosing a business path, it wasn’t difficult for Richardson to step into his new role. “I have always worked for myself, so learning to think like a business owner and how to hold myself accountable to success has always been important,” he says. “While owning my first business at the t-shirt shop, it was very important to understand basic financial principals, such as the importance of spending less than you make and investing in your business to grow it. Since I owned that business with my best friend, I also learned a lot about working with others and balancing relationships with friends with whom you work.”
Richardson credits the success he’s experienced as managing partner to his persistence and the high expectations he sets for himself. “The best part of what I do as a managing partner is give people the same opportunity I had—the opportunity to have a successful career that impacts the lives of those you work with and still gives you the flexibility to spend time with your family and work in the community,” he says.
For Richardson, life is about more than sharing success with his peers—it’s also about giving a hand up to those who need it the most. “Giving back is more important than building personal wealth,” he says. “You can’t take it with you when you’re gone, or as my favorite pastor puts it, ‘When the game is over, it all goes back in the box.’”
Richardson is involved in a wide variety of organizations. He gives time and resources to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer and Hoops Family Children’s Hospital, and he is a member of Christ Presbyterian Church of Huntington, a board member of Covenant School in Huntington and one of the organizers of Northwestern Mutual’s flood relief efforts, which were established to help with cleanup after the 2016 flooding.
Richardson’s biggest project is an annual backpack drive for foster children in West Virginia, which supports a cause that is near to his heart. After struggling with infertility for three years, Richardson and his wife adopted two children. During foster care training, they discovered that many children in the foster care system go from placement to placement with little more than a trash bag. The couple reached out to Northwestern Mutual and its local clients for help. “Our first year we were able to deliver approximately 30 L.L. Bean duffle bags monogrammed with the children’s names and filled with items,” he says. In 2015, the group delivered 150 bags, and this year, Richardson expects that number to grow as the program develops new partnerships.
West Virginia has proven to be a place of boundless opportunities for success for Richardson. “It drives me nuts that people think they have to leave to be successful,” he says. “There is plenty of opportunity right here. We just need more young leaders to stay and develop their careers and businesses locally.”
What is your favorite . . . ?
Color – Slate blue
Food – My wife’s chicken casserole
Cartoon Character – Wile E. Coyote
Ice Cream – Whiskey pecan
Animal – Birds of prey
Book – “The E-Myth” series by Michael Gerber
App – Audible
Midnight Snack – Fresh chocolate chip cookies and milk
Super Hero – Batman
Video Game – Contra
Comic Book – “Batman”
TV Show – “Breaking Bad”
Movie – “The Boondock Saints”
Smell – Mountain air
Sport Team – Marshall University Thundering Herd
Car – Tesla
Pet – Dog
Place – Sunset Beach, NC
Small Local Restaurant – 21 at the Frederick
Season – Fall
Era – The future
West Virginia Location – The Greenbrier
West Virginia Activity – Skiing
