Nick Bauer, CFA
FOUNDING PARTNER
Nick Bauer, CFA is the Founding Partner of Operose Advisors and has 24 years of investment experience. Nick is responsible for managing the overall strategic direction of the firm including oversight of the firm’s investment advisory process, client relations and business development. He serves as the primary investment advisor on several of the firm’s key relationships.
Prior to founding Operose Advisors, Nick was Principal and Director of Geneva Capital Management in Milwaukee, WI. While at Geneva Capital, Nick oversaw the growth of the firm’s institutional business from $1 billion of assets under management to $6.8 billion.
He played a key role in the sale of Geneva’s business to Henderson Global Investors based in London and subsequently managed Henderson’s North American institutional business development efforts.
Nick holds a B.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Nick serves on the Board of Directors of the Milwaukee Association of Commerce. Nick is a member of the Limited Partner Advisory Committee for the Marcus Real Estate Fund I, and he is a member of the Investment Committee at Marquette University High School, Rogers Behavioral Health System and Versiti, Inc.
Dan Stier, CFA, ASA
President, Chief Investment Officer
Dan Stier is the President and Chief Investment Officer at Operose Advisors. He joined the firm in 2023. Dan is responsible for managing the overall strategic direction of the firm and investment process.
Prior to joining Operose, Dan was a Managing Director at Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company where he led Northwestern Mutual's strategic investment initiatives. In this role, he was accountable for strategic asset allocation on the company's $300+ billion in General Account and pension portfolios, along with the spread lending business and debt capital markets funding activities. Dan had a variety of responsibilities at Northwestern Mutual since his start in 2006, including strategic and tactical asset allocation for multi-asset class portfolios, leadership of new business initiatives, development of the investment technology and data transformation strategy, and other enterprise-wide activities .
Dan holds a Bachelors of Science degree with distinction from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Actuarial Science and Finance. Dan earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2010, the Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA) designation in 2007 and is a member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA).
Dan serves as an Advisory Board member at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Mandy Nowaczynski, CPA, CFP, MSPA
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Mandy Nowaczynski, CPA, CFP, MSPA is the Chief Operating Officer and is responsible for overseeing the firm's back-office operations, client service team, corporate accounting and financial reporting. She also leads the firm’s tax and accounting practice and is responsible for family office accounting, tax planning, and return preparation for clients. Mandy has 13 years of experience in tax and financial planning for clients.
Prior to joining Operose Advisors, Mandy was a Director with CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), where she spent her time assisting clients with their tax filing and planning needs. Her clients ranged from high-net-worth individuals, trusts, real estate entities, and small businesses. Prior to joining CLA she worked in wealth management advising clients on financial planning and developing financial plans.
Mandy holds a B.S. in accounting and finance, and a Master’s in professional accounting with an emphasis in tax from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. She also holds her certificate in financial planning.
Mandy serves as the Treasurer for the Waukesha County Estate Planning Council and is on the Finance Committee for the Waukesha Civic Theatre.
Caroline Jankowski
PARTNER, CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER
Caroline Jankowski is a Partner and the Chief Compliance Officer for Operose Advisors. She joined the firm in 2019 and has 22 years of experience in the industry. Caroline is responsible for administering the firm’s compliance program, as well as overseeing the day-to-day business management of the firm.
Prior to joining Operose, Caroline was a Partner and Project Lead with Vista360, LLC. During her 11+ years at Vista360, Caroline was responsible for assisting investment advisers and funds with SEC compliance and strategic matters, while also leading the firm’s research and consulting process efforts. Prior to joining Vista360, Caroline was Chief Financial Officer of Ziegler Capital Management and its proprietary fund family.
Caroline holds a B.A. in Economics and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin - Madison.
Caroline serves on the Leadership Council for St. Marcus School. She has served on the Board of Directors of Bloom360 Learning Community and St. Francis Children’s Center.
Skip McGregor
Partner
Skip McGregor is a Partner at Operose Advisors. He joined the firm in 2020 and has 25 years of experience in the industry. Skip serves as the primary investment advisor on several of the firm’s key relationships. He is responsible for business development and provides advice to clients with respect to planning, execution, and feedback of investment programs, investment policy development, asset class assessment, investment management and ongoing client support and service.
Prior to joining Operose, Skip was a Managing Director at Robert W. Baird serving in various roles over his 20+ years with the firm. His most recent role was in business development for Greenhouse Funds, a private investment management company for which Baird has a minority ownership interest. He started his career at Baird on the Institutional Sales team covering asset management firms on the West Coast.
Skip holds a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin -Madison.
Skip serves on the Board of Directors of Milwaukee Winter Club and Rocketship Public Schools.
Barbara Blickle
ASSOCIATE
Barbara is an Associate for Operose Advisors. She joined the firm in July of 2023 and is responsible for the execution of client service requests including onboarding and account maintenance.
Prior to joining Operose Advisors Barbara was an Advisor Support and Client Onboarding Specialist with Johnson Financial Group. Barbara was with Johnson Financial Group for 17 years and during her time there also worked in Trust Administration for high-net-worth family office clients and Compliance.
Barbara holds a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin - Parkside.
Chris Evers
DIRECTOR
Chris Evers is a Director at Operose Advisors. He joined the firm in 2022 and has 10 years of experience in the industry. Chris provides advice to clients with respect to planning, execution, and feedback of investment programs. In addition, he assists clients with investment policy development, asset class assessment, investment management and ongoing client support and service. He also performs trading on behalf of client accounts.
Prior to joining Operose Advisors, Chris was an Associate Financial Advisor at Landaas & Company in Milwaukee, WI. Chris joined Landaas in 2013, working his way up to become a financial advisor dedicated to helping clients achieve their goals. Chris was also a member of the firm’s research team which guided manager selection and asset allocation.
Chris holds a B.S. in Business Administration, specializing in Finance and Economics from Marquette University.
Carolina Itsines
OFFICE MANAGER
Carolina Itsines is the Office Manager at Operose Advisors. She joined the firm in October 2022 and assists the Operose team with achieving our mission of servicing clients and investment excellence. Carolina is responsible for office management, corporate communications and event planning.
Prior to joining Operose Advisors, Carolina was the Director of Events at Marquette University High School. While at MUHS, she oversaw the organization and execution of the school’s events. Prior to joining Marquette University High School, she held roles with Nativity Jesuit Academy and St. Anthony School of Milwaukee.
Jack Mielke
ASSOCIATE
Jack is an Associate for Operose Advisors. He joined the firm in 2021 and is responsible for servicing the firm's defined contribution clients, manager research and performance reporting. Prior to joining Operose Advisors, Jack worked for Edward Jones and graduated from their Financial Advisor Career Development (FACD) program.
Jack holds a B.A. in Finance and Economics from Marquette University and is a CFA Level III candidate.
Angie Newbauer
ASSOCIATE
Angie is an Associate for Operose Advisors. She joined the firm in January 2024 and is responsible for portfolio accounting, management reporting, and ensuring the data integrity of alternative investments held in client accounts.
Prior to joining Operose Advisors, Angie worked for Northwestern Mutual as the Treasury Operations Cash Manager. Her responsibilities included setting the cash balances for the investment, operating and subsidiary accounts. Detailed cash forecasting was provided to ensure proper funding for $550+ billion in invested assets under management. In addition, she provided spread lending reporting, analysis on investment data feeds, and maintained the company's treasury management system. Prior to Northwestern Mutual, Angie held Treasury and real estate operational roles at Invitation Homes and Walton International Group.
Angie holds a B.A. from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Beth Raduenz
Vice President
Beth Raduenz is Vice President - Client Service and Operations at Operose Advisors. Beth joined the firm in 2019 and has 10 years of experience in the industry. Beth serves as the liaison between the client and advisor. She is responsible for the execution of client service requests, including onboarding and maintenance of accounts, preparation of alternative investment subscription documents and performance reporting.
Prior to joining Operose Advisors, Beth was General Manager at Rivermoor Golf Club in Waterford, WI. Additionally, Beth spent 7 years at Geneva Capital Management in Milwaukee, WI. Beth joined Geneva, which was later acquired by Henderson Global Investors, in 2014. Beth held roles as both an Executive Assistant to the Principals/Portfolio Managers of Geneva and Research Assistant to the entire Investment team.
Beth also brings 20 years of excellent customer service experience from the former Milwaukee-based Midwest Express Airlines.
Kristin Stanek
DIRECTOR
Kristin Stanek is a Director at Operose Advisors. She joined the firm in 2018 and has 19 years of experience in the industry. Kristin serves as the primary investment advisor on several of the firm’s relationships. She provides advice to clients with respect to planning, execution, and feedback of investment programs, investment policy development, asset class assessment, investment management and ongoing client support and service. In addition, Kristin supports the firm’s retirement planning efforts.
Prior to joining Operose Advisors, Kristin was Principal and Senior Research Analyst at Geneva Capital Management in Milwaukee, WI. Kristin joined Geneva in 2004, which was later acquired by Henderson Global Investors in 2014. Kristin served as a member of the Investment Strategy Group which managed more than $6 billion in assets under management, focusing on high-quality small and mid-cap growth strategies.
Kristin holds a B.A. from Coe College and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.