Celebrating Five Years of Preston Abbott at Cardinal Group

At Cardinal, our culture embodies many different elements: it’s about improving as a team while having fun growing together both personally and professionally. Our team members are the heart and soul of our culture! We are so grateful for the efforts our team members put in daily to go the extra mile to help change the industry and challenge the status quo.

Today we’re celebrating Preston Abbott and his dedicated years of service to the growth of our team over the last five years.

Learn more about Preston’s journey below!

What is your role?

Portfolio Manager

Describe your Cardinal Journey.

I started my Cardinal journey on the Travel Team, moved over into Operations Training & Development, and back into operations as an Assistant Portfolio Manager before being promoted to Portfolio Manager.

Who has been influential in your life, and how have they helped guide you?

This is such a tough question because I have been blessed with a ton of positive influence. I would probably narrow this down to two people, professionally, for different reasons. Kellie Dalrymple was one of my first intros to Cardinal on the travel team and has always stood firmly in my corner. She also took a chance on me on the training side of things. Her relentless pursuit of doing things the right way set a good example for how to carry myself and opened doors to rooms I would have never expected to be in. Carynes Gitler is the second, who still to this day challenges me in ways I never imagined a team lead would. Though I no longer report directly to her, she always finds a way to give me a new perspective and motivates me to carry on in the toughest of times.

What’s something people may not know about you?

I marched in the Pride of the Southland Marching Band at the University of Tennessee for 4 years and hold a degree in Music Education (A lot of use that is.)

What is your favorite college town in America and why?

I’m biased because I went to school there, but Knoxville, TN is home. If I were made to choose a second it would probably be Madison, WI.

What are three things you can’t start your day without?

Coffee, exercise, and an organized day/to-do list.

What is something that you are involved with at Cardinal Group that the rest of the industry should emulate?

Less involvement in a specific item, but no one does open, honest communication like Cardinal and I would like to think I play a part in that with my team. No one is too big or good to admit when we don’t have an answer, but we’re also determined to figure it out.

What is your proudest moment working at Cardinal Group?

My proudest moment working at Cardinal Group has to be my RedTalk from a few years ago. I’m decent at public speaking in a setting where I can react and take information and feedback from an audience, but being in front of a camera where something could live on forever was terrifying and also empowering once it was done.

Are you ready to start your Cardinal Journey?

See our open opportunities.