BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Certified financial planner and business founder Steve Dudash '99 will be honored as the 2024 IWU Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year at a luncheon during Illinois Wesleyan University homecoming celebrations. A panel featuring successful alumni innovators and entrepreneurs will follow.
The event will take place from 12-1:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, at IWU’s Hansen Student Center.
Those planning to attend may register through the Homecoming & Family Weekend website.
Dudash majored in mathematics as a Titan and earned a master’s from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He began his career in financial advisory, building one of the largest teams at Merrill Lynch in Chicago. In 2014, he founded IHT Wealth Management, which has grown under his leadership to manage over $8 billion in client assets across 17 states.
In 2023, Dudash founded Riverwalk Capital Partners in Chicago, a venture capital firm focused on private placement investments. His expertise in wealth management has led to interviews with CNBC, Fox Business, Bloomberg, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal. He has also contributed to publications like Forbes, Investment News and Financial Advisor Magazine.
Dudash is currently the youngest member of the Illinois Wesleyan Board of Trustees. He is married to Lisa Dudash '01, and they have three children.
In addition to Dudash being named IWU’s Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year, guests at the lunch will hear from entrepreneurial leaders from various industries as they share stories and lessons learned through their ventures and how they leveraged their experience at IWU to build and manage their companies.
The panelists include Joni Williams '82, CEO of Kelly Scott Madison in Chicago; Randy Green '03, a partner at Meyer Capel law firm and adjunct professor at University of Illinois College of Law; and Will Jenkins '12, founder and CEO of freight-brokerage and training company Journey.