Over the course of her 25-year-career, Gretchen has founded and grown more than five businesses, in addition to serving as the Chief Strategy Officer for one of the financial services industry's leading wealth management firms. Gretchen’s career path and journey to success have been guided by one true passion: to help people create the life they want, even when that means challenging the status quo. It’s a passion that she brings to all aspects of her personal and professional life, and one that is at the heart of her businesses.

Gretchen made her foray into the financial services industry more than a decade ago, when she founded The Halpin Group. There, she provided management consulting solutions to highly regulated companies, such as banks, financial advisors, and healthcare institutions.

Gretchen shared her insights and best practices as a featured speaker at numerous industry events and conferences, including the an eMoney Advisor Summit, NAPFA's spring conference, and Financial Advisor Magazine’s Invest in Women conferences.

Throughout her experience as an executive leader in the field, Gretchen saw a major need to bring other financial services firms into the digital age and help them better serve their clients’ evolving needs while communicating their value in a compliant way. This prompted her to co-found Beyond AUM in 2017 — a growth, experience, and technology agency that specializes in serving financial advisory firms. Since its founding, Beyond AUM has notched a +2,000% growth (in revenue) over the past 3 years.

Gretchen's achievements as an entrepreneur go further back than her career in the financial services industry. In 2001, Gretchen launched Soothe Your Senses, an organic aromatherapy product line. What started as a passion for health and wellness expanded into an international spa brand — with retail distribution in 30 U.S. states and five countries — that grew 250% annually for eight years before she sold it in 2010.