FAMILY HISTORY
Elliott W. Wislar is said to have investment strategies in his DNA. Not surprising since he is a descendant of the Wakefield family when two brothers landed in Martha’s Vineyard in the 1680’s, and whose name is still borne today by the City of Wakefield, Massachusetts. One migrated to Virginia and they established early commerce in the colonies trading fish and grain.
His mother’s ancestors, the Elliott’s, blazed the Oregon Trial from east to west into Sun Valley Idaho and raised and sold sheep, and were later wine makers forming a successful winery in the Napa Valley region, California. Elliott’s grandfather, on his mother’s side, was a successful “wildcatter” and fished and socialized with the likes of Ernest Hemingway. Elliott recalls the stories of him as “bigger than life.” And, Elliott’s father was a Wall Street Insurance executive and later an investor in private equities, and his mother was a graduate of Stanford and an early female member of the staff of the New Yorker Magazine. Success in everything you do is no stranger to Elliott Wakefield Wislar. He runs Clearbrook, LLC with the mantra that to achieve success one must apply persistence with direction toward the goal.
Since Trade in colonial days generally involved some sea transport, Elliott’s family was also made up of several experienced sailors. As the generations passed, the love for both commerce and sailing passed along with it. Elliott, at the age of ten, was experienced enough in sailing to be winning races. Racing came naturally and every summer he and his friends competed locally and in regional and national designated regattas. Later in life, he went on to train world champion racers, competed on the Olympic Sailing Team toward a position in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and in the last ten years has won two world championships, was runner up in another, and continues to compete in regional, national and international racing regattas.
What does sailboat racing have to do with business? “Plenty,” says Elliott, “This sport requires both physical and strategic stamina. The water, elements and conditions are ever changing based on the inherent unpredictability of Nature and your competition. These skills are not only applicable to business, but transferable and essential.” Just like sailing, the business environment is ever changing requiring skillful adaptation to conditions and competition.