Biography

I know, I know. You were thinking nerd glasses and a pocket protector.

Nope.

I wake up before 5AM and read news. I drive a Ram 2500 pickup truck. We travel with two giant Bernese Mountain dogs (see below). We have an off-grid home in the rugged mountains of Western Montana and a farm outside of Hawkins Wisconsin. We love the outdoors and a rougher lifestyle than you find in the city.

Not quite the image of an economist.

My life has been the American Dream. Period. Full-stop.

I grew up in Hartford, Wisconsin. Great life. I graduated high school early in January of 1986. A few days later, I was getting my head shaved at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. The United States Army. Wow!!! A teenager suddenly in a man's world. I remember a drill instructor telling me I was the youngest man on the base at just over 17 years.

Oklahoma. Heat and cattle and oil rigs and rattlesnakes. Yikes.

Home to UW-Oshkosh for college. Majored in Economics. On to graduate school at UW-La Crosse. Good school. Great duck hunting. A Master's in Business-Finance. I remember my last exam, everyone off to the bars. Not me. I headed out to Fort McCoy to direct artillery fire late into the night.

I tried corporate America. Hated it. I wanted to be in business for myself. My closest friend for now 38 years got me a meeting with a guy. Ben owned a manufacturer in Fond du Lac. He needed a financial guy and accounting software. He hired the newly formed Key Consulting, Inc. on the spot.

No more corporate America.

Soon it was bigger companies and bigger issues. I had a knack for getting troubled companies back on track. My instructors in the U.S. Army taught us to be fearless. Not reckless, but fearless and that helped with the constant stress.

For 32 years I have run my practice, Key Consulting, Inc. Been a CEO, CFO, controller, advisor, economist, and financial analyst. Met a lot of great people. Shortest project? 39 minutes. We did not really hit it off. Longest project? Over 21 years. In fact, I wrote the buyout plan for the guys I helped hire years before.

My wife Annie and I live south of Minocqua. Annie is one of the premier wetlands scientists in the state. She represents businesses in environmental matters. We have a daughter Catherine, who is in banking. In 2005, we acquired an injection mold manufacturer (a rescue for which no buyer came forward).

I love to work. I love economics. I love this country without apology.

Murphy and Missoula

Bernese Mountain Dogs

220 pounds of dogs. Playful and roughhousing part of the day, asleep the other part.

They come to the factory in Ironwood. They come to client locations. They even come in the bank with us.

I have tried economics lectures on them. They fall fast asleep.