Dan Gaugler, CPA/PFS (inactive), CFP®
Founding Partner, Wealth Advisory ServicesAfter learning the essence of hard work and client service during six years as a caddie, I started my career as a CPA tax specialist at Deloitte Haskins and Sells in 1986. The timing was perfect, as the Tax Reform Act of 1986 had just changed everything for individuals and investments. Tax-managed investment and cash-flow planning became a core focus of my work early on.
I officially became a wealth manager in 1991 when I moved to Investment Advisors International, Inc., part of Mark McCormack’s IMG, the world’s leading sports marketing company. IMG was ahead of its time in having an in-house wealth management firm to care for its athlete and executive clients. Deloitte recruited me back in 1996 to help launch its investment advisory business, where I spent five years building a client base and team.
The idea for Fairway actually began earlier. During my MBA coursework, I wrote a business plan for “Fairway Financial Group.” I earned an A- on the project, with the professor noting that my marketing assumptions stretched credibility. That plan became reality in 2002, when I asked Mark Weiskind to leave Deloitte with me and co-found Fairway.
After launching and leading the firm for more than twenty years, I now serve as a Founding Partner in our Wealth Advisory Services practice. Today, I do what I enjoy most, working exclusively as Personal CFO and trusted advisor to a small group of wonderful client families. In a few cases, those relationships come full circle, as some of the individuals I serve today are people I originally caddied for decades ago.
While growing wealth is important, the real meaning in this work comes from helping clients make the most of their time, translating wealth into the experiences, freedom, and long-term security they value most. Over the years, Fairway has been hired by hundreds of families, and I have worn many hats as an entrepreneur, but my focus today is entirely on serving clients.
Outside of Fairway, I recently retired after fifteen years as a member of the board of directors of The Great Lakes Construction Co., an ESOP company and one of Ohio’s largest heavy civil construction contractors, where I served on the Audit, Investment, and Compensation committees.
