[Fredslist] Gotham Profile: Kelly Welles

[newthynk at aol.com]

What a perfect illumination of Kelly! But then Kelly is very luminous! And Steven is very talented at focusing the light. What a lovely practice this is.





Geraldine Newman

NEWTHYNK

212.988.3395




-----Original Message-----
From: Steven Skyles-Mulligan <steven at evokestrategies.com>
To: fredslist at gothamnetworking.com
Sent: Tue, 25 Nov 2008 9:24 am
Subject: [Fredslist] Gotham Profile:  Kelly Welles






















She dated jazz great Artie
Shaw, was pursued by Ted Turner, ghost wrote for diet doctor Robert
Atkins, had tea with Estee Lauder, and became a member of Barry Diller's
cabinet at Paramount Pictures. Recently she had a chance encounter with Deepak
Chopra.   No wonder she was Gotham’s Networker of the Year in
2006.  But Kelly Welles is no celebrity-seeking gadfly.  She is a
connector – the kind of player every Gotham member aspires to be. 
People are her life.



Although she is easily mistaken for
a native New Yorker, Kelly originally came from Washington State as a semi
finalist in a Vogue writing contest. Soon after, she
discovered acting.  Like all hopeful young actors, she had to make a
number of adjustments, eventually launching an international marketing
consultancy with offices in New York, London and Paris. Clients included
Fortune 500 companies and high profile players in the entertainment world, as
well as the United Nations and the Ford Foundation.  Following the crash
of 1987, she used her business acumen to rein
vent herself as a financial
service professional.  



One of her earliest assignments at a
major retail bank had Kelly supervising accounts for 3,000 businesses and
belonging to just about every networking organization in town.  Her
already vast Rolodex grew exponentially.  At the same time, so did her
understanding of the way people are – and need to be – connected to
each other.  Now, introducing people to each other is simply a reflex for
Kelly.  From the moment she meets someone, she begins to consider who she
knows who could be helpful to that person.  



Dealing with demanding
advertising clients gave Kelly a keen ear for needs, both stated and
unstated.   This not only makes her an extraordinary networker and
trusted confidant, but also an incredible resource for her
clients. Entering the life insurance business on a whim because she wanted
to launch an original annuity concept, Kelly found a powerful platform for
participating in people’s lives.  Her clients – whether
business owners or high net worth executives, senior citizens or newlyweds
– rely on Kelly to insulate them from financial insecurity and help them
build enduring peace of mind. Sometimes her work is critical to preventing
people from going out of business or losing their homes.  Sometimes it
helps them accumulate and preserve wealth.   Either way, Kelly uses
her 30+ years of well-honed financial experience and proven strategies to
provide the right guidance.




Not infrequently, Kelly’s
clients report that nobody previously posed the questions she asked.  Because
she gains such a deep understanding of clients’ circumstances and
feelings, it can sometimes take a few weeks to create the right
solution mix, which can include various life products, guaranteed disability,
long-term care, “key-man” and other insurance.  Kelly works
closely with CPAs, attorneys, management consultants and other financial
professionals who often turn to her when their most coveted clients need
insurance reviews or sound exit planning strategies.  Recently, she was
able to save a 100-person company $200,000 per year on group health
premiums.  



Kelly is profoundly committed to
financial literacy.  In addition to the extensive time she devotes to this
with her clients, she founded a series of free seminars offered by Certified
Financial Planners (CFP®) at The New York Public Library, created the
Malcolm S. Forbes Award for journalists who treat the subject of financial
planning intelligently and obtained a quarter million dollar grant from Chase
to promote financial planning post 9/11.



Kelly is married
to Dr. Lee Evans, a society pianist, composer, arranger and professor
of music at Pace University.  They love reading, music and theater.
Recent reading includes Paolo Coelho’s The Alchemist and Deepak
Chopra’s Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.  A current film
favorite is Slumdog Millionaire.  A serene citizen of the universe
in 
addition to an urbane citizen of the world, Kelly stays centered with
meditation and exercises her curiosity about world cultures and
religions.  Her favorite activities are kayaking in the salt ponds of East
Hampton and listening to the world's greatest live music with her musician
husband.  For such an excellent conversationalist, Kelly is also
proficient at the art of silence. 



If by some
chance you do not already know Kelly Welles, make her acquaintance as soon as
you can; she almost certainly knows at least half a dozen people you should
meet.  Do not be surprised if she asks some questions nobody else has
thought to raise – and do not be startled by how comfortable you will
feel answering them.



 



 



 



Steven Skyles-Mulligan



Executive Director



Evoke Strategies



www.evokestrategies.com



http://newyorkmarketer.typepad.com



Member, Gotham Open House



Official “Profiler,” Gotham Networking



 



 










 





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