Laura Thurow leads the wealth solutions and operations group for Baird’s private wealth management business, overseeing the people, platforms and services that support Baird’s 1,400 financial advisers in more than 160 offices.

She’s also the quantitative one in her internal partnership with Katie Costigan, the qualitative one.

“I learn from Katie every day. She connects strategy with the people side of the business. We laugh a lot and that’s important in this business when there is so much volatility and uncertainty,” Thurow said.

Costigan began her career at Baird over 20 years ago as an intern in the firm’s public finance business and eventually worked her way into human resources. After a short time away from Baird, she rejoined in the private wealth management business, where she found her true passion serving as a market director. Costigan now manages more than 250 private wealth management professionals across 13 branches in the Midwest and oversees over $20 billion in assets under management.

“I did not grow up as a financial adviser, so Laura has been a tremendous resource for me. I could not do my job without her,” Costigan said, adding that Thurow is “supercool,” a truly meaningful compliment when proffered in Milwaukee, the city that brought us the Fonz.

The firm would have a hard time without the pair. Costigan and Thurow are two of Baird Private Wealth Management’s most senior women, serving in integral roles to guide and support its financial advisers. Together, they’ve worked on some of the important achievements in the firm’s history, such as the acquisition of Hilliard Lyons in 2019 — Baird’s largest to date, with more than $50 billion in client assets.

That’s pretty cool, too. — Gregg Greenberg