Southern Illinois University Edwardsville alum Elizabeth Sheley is among the St. Louis Business Journal’s 30-Under-30 honorees for 2014. The awards recognize the future leaders of the region and those who someday might appear on the cover of the Business Journal. See the complete list.
With the help of 10 judges (past 30-Under-30 winners), the St. Louis Business Journal’s Vince Brennan, Editor Trish Miller and Publisher Ellen Sherberg reviewed more than 350 nominations.
In Morgan Stanley’s nomination letter, Sheley was described as having “distinguished herself as one of the top female producers with Morgan Stanley in St Louis and is now a vice president and portfolio manager of a team with more than $440 million in assets … and has personally evolved as a business leader who demonstrates excellent investment skill and consistently delivers sharp business insights. Beth’s passion, hard work and dedication have been the secrets to her success.”
The nomination concluded with “… is diligent, often relentless, in the pursuit of her dreams. She is an exceptionally influential businesswoman and has positively influenced our Morgan Stanley office. She is a leadership figure to all of those around her.”
The 29-year-old Edwardsville native credits her family for the foundation of her business success. “I was raised on a farm, and my parents instilled in me the need to plan ahead and save,” she said. “My dad said the best way to build wealth is to spend less than you earn, and purchase assets that increase in value. At a young age, I became excited about the concepts of managing money and building wealth.”
Sheley earned a bachelor’s in business administration from the SIUE School of Business in 2005 at age 20. She began her career in the financial services industry working for Wells Fargo. In 2007, she joined Morgan Stanley as a financial advisor. She was among just 10 percent of wealth managers in the St. Louis area to be chosen as FIVE STAR wealth managers in St. Louis Magazine in 2012 and 2013. She was also a recipient of the NABCAP Top St. Louis Wealth Managers award featured in the St. Louis Business Journal in 2011.
“SIUE gave me a strong foundation to pursue my business goals,” Sheley said. “The professors at SIUE, particularly the School of Business, were just amazing – extremely passionate about the courses they were teaching. They pushed me and encouraged me to keep my curriculum rigorous.
“They taught me not what to think, but how to think, and provided me with transferrable skills, leadership, and the foundational knowledge that has applied to so many phases of my personal and professional life.
“SIUE has an exceptional career development center that offered significant help in my transition from university life to the business world: career fairs with prospective employers, a mentor program, resume building, career counseling and help with interview techniques.”
Along with serving on the SIUE Alumni Association board of directors, Sheley is deeply involved in the community serving a variety of organizations such as the St. Louis Area Food Bank, St. Louis Learning Disabilities Association (LDA), Habitat for Humanity, Boys Hope Girls Hope of St. Louis, Edwardsville Neighbors in Need and the Edwardsville High School Marching Band.
“I’m very proud to be a founding member of the Young Professionals Board of the St. Louis Learning Disabilities Association,” Sheley said. “In just three years, our group has raised more than $25,000 through new fundraising events. Serving on this board has helped me discover how wonderfully rewarding it is to help others, and really sparked my interest in supporting children who learn differently.”
Full stories on each honoree will appear in the July 11 issue of the Business Journal. The 30 winners will be honored Thursday, July 17, at 5:30 p.m. The event will take place at Moulin Events at 2017 Chouteau Avenue. For more information about the event, click here or contact Kelly Rowland at krowland@bizjournals.com.