Gary Furukawa on leadership, resourcefulness, and education

Gary Furukawa (UW 1981) started his career with Deloitte & Touche in Seattle as a Certified Public Accountant. In 1982, he joined Smith Barney as a financial consultant, eventually rising to senior vice president. In 1999, Mr. Furukawa founded Freestone Capital Management, a wealth management firm in Seattle with a focus on customer service and relationship building. He has been an unusually successful investor along the way, investing in a wide variety of asset classes especially during tough financial times. From 2000 to 2002, Freestone’s clients made money despite a recession. From that point, the company continued to grow, and today, manages over $3 billion in assets with 50 employees. Freestone has become one of the top wealth management firms in the country according to Bloomberg.

Mr. Furukawa was the recipient of the Foster School’s Distinguished Leadership Award, the school’s highest non-degree honor. He received the award at the Foster School’s 24th Annual Business Leadership Celebration on October 22, 2015. Distinguished Leadership Awardees are champions in their communities and companies. They embody strong leadership values while building a company that defines the Northwest community.