HCI is happy to welcome Cam Blakely back to his hometown of Manhattan as our Chief Financial Officer! Cam comes from a long background working in finance, and we're confident in his leadership ability and impressed by his passion.
Born and raised in Manhattan, Kansas, Cam is a lifelong Wildcat fan, and he received his accounting degree at Kansas State University. Originally he wanted to be an engineer, until he realized he would have to carry a giant portfolio all over campus, so he opted to carry a calculator instead. After graduation, he worked for Touche Ross, a public accounting firm before taking a position at Sysco Foods. He would spend 29 years at Sysco, holding about 15 different positions within the company. He was flexible, which allowed him to learn everything he could about the business and get to know his employees that much better. Cam has also held financial management positions in relocation management, and real estate.
When he's not working, Cam spends every possible minute outdoors. Remaining active is a very big priority, and he finds every chance to go to Colorado for the hiking, fishing, skiing, watersports, and adventure that he can. Recently he hiked to the top of Quandary Peak, 14,265 ft - quite the view!
He also takes these opportunities to spend time with his family. His daughter, Maria lives in Colorado and works as an environmental engineer, and his son, CJ (Cam Jr.) is in his second year of graduate school at the University of Southern California studying strategic communication. When asked what his favorite job has been, Cam will tell you that he loves being a dad. Besides his children, Cam spends time with his mother, who lives in Manhattan, his younger brother, and friends.
Cam has only been with HCI for a short time, but he is already diving in to each brand we represent and learning everything he can about the business. He says his favorite part of his job so far is the variety. Every brand is a little different, and it gives him a chance to be a part of multiple aspects of the business. He enjoys working with other departments and seeing how they intertwine with each other. HCI's core values resonate deeply with Cam, and from his perspective the people are happy to be here, work hard, and make the company better.
Cam's door is always open to anyone who has a question or needs help to solve an issue. He's been managing people since he was 23 and the secret to his success is that he encourages his team to be honest with him. His philosophy is "I want to do fun stuff, work with fun people and work hard. We want to be "World Class" - you can't always be perfect - but we we should strive to be "World Class".
Welcome to the team, Cam!
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