Natalie Wolfsen, CEO of Orion Advisor Solutions, spoke at UVU’s Reed and Christine Halladay Lecture Series about building confidence, embracing opportunity, and “playing to win.” Her story of resilience and bold career choices inspired students to pursue growth with focus and faith.
Natalie shared her personal journey and the four principles she believes matter most in building a meaningful and successful career: say yes to opportunity, don’t get distracted, do great work, and play to win.
Her story is not the typical path to becoming a CEO. Despite earning good grades in high school, she was not accepted into college. She reluctantly enrolled in a local school but quickly realized it was not the right fit. After leaving, she spent time hiking and reflecting before deciding to take her education more seriously. She eventually went on to attend Berkeley, working nights in a casino to pay her way. Her career began at American Express, where she was hired despite having no background in finance. Later, she earned her MBA and discovered her passion for business. Natalie emphasized that it does not matter how you start—what matters is making the most of the opportunities you are given.
She introduced the concept of the Matthew Effect, which comes from scripture in the book of Matthew and illustrates how early success often leads to more resources, recognition, and future opportunities. This pattern, she explained, shows up not only in business but also in sports, education, and creativity. Momentum builds when excellence creates more chances to excel.
Natalie encouraged students to embrace opportunity even when it looks daunting. While at Charles Schwab, she was asked to lead development of the first wireless trading technology. Although she was in marketing and not the first choice for the role, she said yes. That decision paved the way for future opportunities, including her eventual role as CEO of AssetMark, where she helped lead the company to go public on the stock exchange. She acknowledged that opportunities often arrive at inconvenient times, both personally and professionally, but stressed that saying yes can set the Matthew Effect in motion and open new doors.
She also spoke about the importance of focus. In her words, when you panic you tend to narrow your vision and miss the bigger picture. Protecting focus is a discipline, and Natalie uses simple reminders, such as keeping her core goals on her computer screen, to stay grounded. She highlighted Tom Brady’s journey as an example of not being distracted by outside noise but instead focusing relentlessly on improvement.
Doing great work, she explained, is at the core of business growth. She encouraged students to go above and beyond, and shared her uncle’s metaphor from The Wisdom of Teams: in business, you want light rather than heat. Meetings and busywork create heat, while light comes from happy customers and strong products. She reminded students that if they are consistently producing excellent work but not being valued, it may be time to move on and find a place where their contributions are recognized.
Finally, Natalie spoke about playing to win. She drew from Good to Great and the story of the 2016 NBA Finals, where the favored Warriors played not to lose rather than to win. Confidence and faith in one’s abilities, she explained, lead to a performance mindset, while fear leads to avoidance and missed opportunities. Believing in yourself is critical—bold bets are safer than playing small.
In the Q&A portion, Natalie explained that Orion provides software for portfolio management and customization. She also addressed questions about maintaining momentum, building confidence, and avoiding distraction from too many opportunities. She reminded students that confidence cannot be handed to them; it must be built through effort, persistence, and learning from setbacks. Failure, she said, is not the opposite of success but part of the journey toward it.
The Woodbury School of Business extends its gratitude to Natalie Wolfsen for sharing her experiences and wisdom with UVU students. Her story and principles serve as a powerful reminder that success comes not from a perfect beginning, but from resilience, focus, and the courage to say yes.
Want to catch every insight from this year’s Halladay Lecture Series?
Watch Natalie's full lecture below.
