Key Words: Professional, family, risk averse, methodical, purposeful, proud

Persona
Gary, a 66 year old recent retiree, was born and raised in Montana, residing there nearly his entire life.  Between being a ski bum in Sun Valley, getting an MBA, and building his own financial services company, Gary has developed a wide range of interests.  A love for the outdoors combined with his desire to be his own boss, he settled in North West Montana in 1975– trading big city money for quality of life.

Think and Feel?
Gary is transitioning from working 60+hours a week for the last 40 years to less than 15 hours a week managing his personal investments.  In addition to being worried if he will have enough money to last through retirement, he is worried about how he will keep himself occupied and entertained without work.  After selling his business a year ago, he was supposed to fully retire however he continues to go into the office each day to "wrap up the loose ends." Besides his two daughters, work has been his life.  He plans to travel, ski, hunt, and read more.  He also plans to visit his daughters every chance he gets.  He has always lived a very conservative lifestyle, never caring about what type of car he drove or what brand of clothes he wore.  He values time with his family and experiences over material items.  He also worries greatly about his daughter’s happiness and success in life.  When his daughters are happy, he is happy.  When his daughters are stressed out or upset, he is stressed out and upset. 

See?
Gary sees a world quickly changing before his eyes.  While fascinated with all of the change, Gary has a hard time with it and thus has struggled keeping up with new technologies – computers, email, cell phones, iPods, digital camera etc.   He enjoys using his digital camera and iPod, but the pictures never seem to make it on to the computer and his iPod hasn't been updated in years. He has always been the last to adopt, just getting his first cell phone a few years ago.  He still struggles with checking his voice mail and has no idea how to text.  Frustrated and confused by it all, he feels much more comfortable doing most things the “old way” - ie. using a phone book rather than "googling" a phone number. The volatile economic environment he sees also makes him nervous, unsure what the future will hold and how it will affect his life.  Day to day, Gary lives a very regular life.  He gets up each morning, makes the coffee for his wife and himself, enjoys a piece of toast and goes in to the office.  He goes to the same place for lunch he's been going to for the last 20+ years.  Here, he sees old friends and business partners - although none of these relationships are particularly close. 

Say and Do?
Gary is very professional and conservative – one could describe him as an introvert.  He prefers eating in with his wife, enjoying a gin and tonic, salad, and steak, to going out to eat at a restaurant. He runs a three to four times a week and gets regular health evaluations.  Overall, a very healthy person – he does not smoke or drink in excess.  He is a very caring and loving father, checking in with his two daughters on a regular basis.  He has always expected a lot out of himself and has pushed his daughters to be the best they can be.  He has worked hard for what he has today and thinks people should do the same.  He prefers to let his wife pick out his clothing and shop for groceries, not out of laziness but apathy.  He dresses professionally for work and casual at home.  He prefers quality over quanity. 

Hear?
Gary reads the Wall Street Journal and the Economist and watches Fox News and MSNBC.  He takes all of this information with a grain of salt, preferring to do his own analysis.  While he listens to his friends and family, he prefers to make decisions only after a significant amount of personal research has been done.   

Pain Points?
Pain points for Gary revolve around finances and family.  While he has always lived a conservative life and has substantial savings, the economic environment still makes him nervous.  Seeing his clients nest eggs vanish over the last few years has increased his fears of something similar happening to him.  Always a planner, he has a number of back up plans and could downgrade his house if need be.  As for his family, he has always been concerned with his two daughters’ happiness and safety.  He would do anything for them, but as they grow up, he realizes that most things are out of his control, and all he can do is wish for the best.