Cathy Lubner
Director
Cathy Lubner’s journey into finance began not with spreadsheets or suits, but with jazz hands and ceramic glaze. As a child, she dreamed of becoming a musician, dancer, and painter. She studied ballet and modern dance through high school and university, later adding jazz in New York City to her repertoire. Piano lessons, self-taught guitar, and a few playful songs rounded out her creative toolkit. Art history and ceramics fed her soul, and to this day, she still finds joy in painting, drawing, collaging, and curling up with a good book—especially in winter.
In the late 1970s, Cathy was working in post-production television in NYC when a strike nudged her toward a temporary staffing agency. That twist of fate landed her at Merrill Lynch, answering phones—until a Senior VP spotted something special and invited her to train as a financial professional. Serendipity struck again when she moved to Morgan Stanley, where she found not just a career, but a calling. Cathy believes true wealth lies in living a healthy, happy life free from economic worry—a philosophy that guides her work and her heart.
Her heart, in fact, has always been drawn to healing and helping. Cathy once worked with Ronald McDonald House, designing joyful activities for patients’ siblings. Later, in Cape Town, South Africa, she created an in-hospital school program for children—many of whom rarely left their wards. She transformed a hospital space into a day classroom, bringing light and laughter to young patients through education and play. Life in South Africa also brought wild adventures—literally. One day, a rogue baboon tried to snatch her baby from a beach blanket, and another time, two baby baboons took her toddler’s hand and began strolling down a mountain, prompting a moment of shared concern with a watchful father baboon.
Today, Cathy dreams of retirement filled with scuba diving, concerts, art exhibitions, and travel—ideally with her grown children and future grandchildren nearby. She’s lived a life of creativity, compassion, and curiosity, and she’s not done yet. Whether it’s raising hundreds of rabbits under an oak tree or attending the Venice Biennale, Cathy embraces every chapter with wonder. “Never say never,” she says—and with her, you believe it.
