Bernadette Hunter

Leadership Advisor Emeritus

Meet Bernadette Hunter

Leadership Advisor Emeritus

"It's not the destination that matters, but the journey (and who you choose to share it with)." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Bernadette Hunter is a graduate from Marquette University with a degree in Business Administration and a major in Marketing. A native of the Chicago area, Bernadette moved east for a job promotion, and has never left. Bernadette spent several years as a sales manager for Minolta Business Systems enjoying great success in a highly competitive industry.

Leaving the corporate world to raise 4 beautiful, very busy children, Bernadette spent the next 20 years managing their athletic and academic “careers”. When her youngest started high school, Bernadette was offered the opportunity to work for Patti.

As Leadership Advisor Emeritus, Bernadette has spearheaded our communications with clients, the media and the community – making sure clients know how important they are, and letting others know what makes Key Financial so different. Her team keeps clients and the community apprised of the latest news and happenings at Key Financial, as well as upcoming events. Her energetic personality has proven to be a great asset as she has tackled the role of event coordinator for team building events for our associates, as well as client functions and seminars. She has also created and runs our highly competitive summer intern program that has proven to be overwhelmingly beneficial to both the interns and our firm!

In her latest endeavor, Bernadette has been the driving force behind The Patti Brennan Show, a biweekly podcast dedicated to helping improve the listener’s net worth with informative and entertaining interviews on various financial topics. Launched at the end of 2018, the show has enjoyed considerable success and is available across all platforms.

Bernadette loves traveling the world with her husband, Bob, and vacationing with her family – which has grown significantly since she began at Key Financial in 2012. Her kids are now married with children of their own. She enjoys chasing after her 6 grandchildren on the beach or in a park, and especially treasures family Sunday night dinners together.

Get to Know Me

See how I spend my free time!

What would your personal reality show be called?

"The Inmates are Runnin’ the Asylum!" It's a joke between my husband and I throughout the years of raising four kids and all their friends that are always at our house. We quickly realized who really was in charge!

If a young person came to you asking what’s most important for living a good life?

I would say the most important thing for living a good life is to be true to yourself in all you do, be loyal to those you care for and love, and have a belief or faith in something higher. Honesty in who you are, what you believe and value should be your foundation in life.

Best compliment ever

After reminiscing through old home videos with our kids one day, my hard-working husband told me I was the most incredible Mom and he had no idea how I was able to handle all four kids and their schedules without losing my mind. It was probably the nicest, most honest thing that anyone’s ever said to me because raising my kids to be who they are today is truly the best thing I have ever done in my life.