Making personal connections is vitally important to Ben Nelson, both in his role as a wealth manager and as a community leader and volunteer. 

“I started in the big corporate world, and quickly realized the corporate world was not for me,” said Nelson, who co-founded Pivot Wealth Strategies LLC in 2011 after starting out with ING Financial and then working for two smaller small wealth management firms. “I like having relationships with clients, and to be able to be responsive rather than reactive. … What I really enjoy is taking all those pieces – taxes, estate plans, business, charitable giving – and to put it all together.” 

Nelson became an active supporter and volunteer with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Iowa – one of several charitable organizations he’s involved in – four years ago after learning that the daughter of a friend of his business partner had the disease. “So it became important to me as well,” he said. 

He recently completed his firm’s move to a historic building downtown, which will also serve as a venue to display the work of several local artists. In addition to rotating visual art pieces in and out, Nelson will sponsor a listening room for small private concerts with local musicians on a regular basis for The GrapeVine. 

“Ben has the remarkable ability to build networks, touch people personally, to inspire giving and to lead,” wrote Bonita Crowe, owner of Da’Vine Entertainment, in a letter supporting his nomination. 

Nelson and his wife, Lindi, have been married since 2009; they live with their two young sons in the Waterbury neighborhood. 

Born and raised in Casper, Wyo., Nelson began playing hockey when he was 5 and continued playing after his family moved to Greater Des Moines. So not surprisingly, one of his favorite expressions comes from hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, who said, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” 

“I think you need to learn from what you’ve done in the past and go forward from there, especially in the financial world,” Nelson said. “I apply that lesson on a daily basis.” 

Reasons he’s a forty:

• Under his leadership, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Iowa launched a martini sampling that become an annual event raising more than $10,000 for research. 
• Nelson serves on the board and as treasurer of Prevent Child Abuse Iowa, where he also has participated in planning for fundraising events and been a generous donor. 
• He volunteers with the ALS Association, Variety – The Children’s Charity, Blank Children’s Hospital and the MARS Foundation. 
• Nelson has led his firm in consistent asset growth with clients throughout the United States and Hong Kong.