Senior Staff Bios
Stuart Lucas, Chairman
Stuart has worked as an investment professional for nearly 30 years. As a fourth-generation descendent of E.A. Stuart, founder of the Carnation Company he co-manages his family's investment office with his sister-in-law, Melissa Lucas and his brother, William. Prior to forming the family office, Stuart was the Senior Managing Director of the Ultra-High Net Worth Group within Private Client Services at Bank One (now JP Morgan Chase). Earlier in his career, he served as general manager of Wellington Management Company's European operations and as the Assistant Portfolio Manager of a Forbes Honor Roll mutual fund.
In addition, Stuart teaches wealthy individuals and families about wealth management. His book, Wealth: Grow It, Protect It, Spend It and Share It, has been published on three continents. He is a featured speaker around the world.
Stuart serves on the boards of National Public Radio Foundation, the Stuart Foundation and the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. He serves on the investment committees of NPR, Inc. and the Stuart Foundation.
He has a bachelor’s degree with high honors from Dartmouth College, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Susan Lucas, President
Susan runs business operations and consulting services at Wealth Strategist Network. Throughout her career, Susan has worked as a strategy consultant, helping clients to clarify priorities, use information to make better decisions, and improve their businesses. At the Boston Consulting Group (Boston) and Bain and Company (London), she did corporate strategy work for Fortune 500 companies; at Talisman Management (London), she was part of the leadership team doing highly-leveraged private equity corporate turn-arounds; at B2P (Chicago), she worked with non-profits and foundations to define and measure impact.
Susan is Stuart’s wife, and lives the challenges of raising children and managing a family with wealth.
Active in the community, Susan serves on the board of Legacy Charter School in Chicago and is a volunteer at her children’s schools, her family’s congregation, and Wellesley College.
Susan has a BA (cum laude) in Economics from Wellesley College and an MA from the University of Chicago.
Cynthia Wambold, Program Director
Cynthia Wambold manages the planning and execution of WSN's open enrollment and customized education programs as the Program Director of Wealth Strategist Partners. She is also in charge of managing the company’s promotion, communication and press relations. Prior to joining the company, Cynthia held leading project management positions at Bank One with the Capital Markets and Private Client Services groups. Cynthia also served as the senior executive assistant to the Chairman and CEO of Bank One, Jamie Dimon, during the bank’s turnaround period.
Prior to joining Bank One, Cynthia held a number of international marketing positions in Paris, Brussels and Zurich working for Estee Lauder, Polo Ralph Lauren and Pepsi Cola. She also served as Director of International Sales and Associate Producer for a French television production/distribution company.
Cynthia has a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Wagner College and a certificate in French Civilization and Literature from the Sorbonne University in Paris.
Melissa F. Lucas, Consultant
For more than a decade, Melissa has been a principal in the Lucas family office. In recent years, she has also provided extensive counsel to another extended family, members of whom need to know how to manage their liquid wealth now that their family business has been sold. She has particular expertise in establishing asset allocation policies, evaluating investment opportunities, doing deep primary due diligence, and effectively monitoring portfolio holdings.
Prior to her work for wealthy families, Melissa was with The Capital Group and its subsidiaries for nearly a decade. After working as an investment analyst and investor, Melissa served as vice president at Capital Research Company. In this role she managed nearly $500 million of investments in the chemical and healthcare industries, influencing all investment in these areas within the American Funds family of mutual funds. She came to The Capital Group from Merck & Co. where she was a biochemist.
Melissa graduated summa cum laude with a degree in biochemical sciences from Princeton University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She is married to Stuart’s brother William.
Press Coverage
Hey, Big Spender
It takes more than a higher income to end up truly wealthy. While most people earn and spend, the wealthy...