Tony Kakuk, CFP®, MBA, brings a valuable perspective to the world of wealth advisory – the ability to identify with and advise business owners as someone who has built, acquired, and exited businesses himself.
His career began at 3M, where he spent seven years in supply chain and production management before earning his MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. He then joined PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Principal Consultant, advising Fortune 500 companies on operational strategy. His next chapter took him into private equity, where he served as General Manager of two PE-acquired companies – learning firsthand how institutional investors acquire businesses and build enterprise value with an exit in mind.
Armed with that blueprint, Tony spent the next two decades as an entrepreneur — first, acquiring a struggling metal finishing operation, executing a successful turnaround and exit, and then building an exclusive private training gym in Orange County that continues to thrive today. He also serves as CFO of a caregiver referral agency he helped his wife acquire. Prior to joining The Zandbergen Group, he traded equities professionally with a proprietary trading firm, deepening his expertise in portfolio construction and capital markets.
Tony holds the CFP® designation and joined The Zandbergen Group to focus on what he knows well – serving high net worth business owners navigating the financial complexity of building, growing, and eventually exiting their businesses.
Tony lives in Laguna Niguel with his wife Melissa and is the proud father of two grown daughters, Chaise and Avery. He is committed to fiduciary guidance built on trust, transparency, and a genuine understanding of what it means to have built something valuable.
Learn more about Tony’s background and approach at tonykakuk.com.
