Investment professional Peter Glerum shares how UW-Whitewater helped forge his successful career

April 24, 2026

As a significant chapter of his life is coming to a close, Peter Glerum is reflective as he thinks back on his career and the foundational milestones that played a pivotal part of his journey.

In May, he is closing out his leadership role as chief investment strategist and partner emeritus with the private equity firm Castlelake, a Minneapolis-based company he joined in 2005.

Also in May, Glerum, who earned a BBA in management computer systems from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 1990, will share his inspiring story as keynote speaker at the May 2026 commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 16.

The Wauwatosa East High School graduate came to campus in the fall of 1986 at a unique time of transition for his family — his parents moved to Seattle shortly before he enrolled at UW-Whitewater.

“To be honest, it was hard,” Glerum said. “But, in hindsight, it was the best thing that ever happened to me because it forced me to mature and grow up. I developed a community on campus. I needed to find something that filled that void of not going home to my childhood bedroom.”

On campus, Glerum worked as a resident assistant for five semesters. Looking back, he reflects fondly on the connections he made with classmates in that close-knit community. Those strong connections were especially true of his fellow RAs.

“We all came together as a group,” he said. “We spent a lot of time in each other’s rooms, just chatting about life. I had my eyes opened. I thought I knew everything, being a suburban kid. But I learned a lot about all different walks of life, just by being at Whitewater.”

He also worked as a janitorial assistant all four years on campus.

“You learn an awful lot about yourself, and people, when you’re scrubbing toilets,” he said. “One of the things I learned is that if I connected with the students in that building, and they knew who I was, they respected the physical property more.”

This foundational sense of connection carried through with him throughout his professional trajectory, which transitioned over time into a role in finance.

Upon earning his degree, Glerum worked for Cargill Financial Services Corp. as an investment manager, an experience he describes as a game-changer.

“I walked in, thinking that I would be this IT person, and I walked out seven years later as an investment professional,” Glerum said. “I crossed that line, and it changed my life. Every job I’ve had since then has been more directly in investing and finance.”

Prior to joining Castlelake, he held investment-related positions with Deephaven Capital Management, American Express Financial Advisors, Piper Sandler (formerly Piper Jaffray) and Wells Fargo Bank.

Glerum, who earned an MBA with honors from the Carlson School at the University of Minnesota in 1995, initially thought about school as a transactional experience that helped him get from one milestone to the next. But over time he developed a greater understanding and appreciation for his time at UW-Whitewater.

“As I reflected, I recalibrated and thought about all that I experienced there,” he said. “The university really had much more impact on me that I really was capable of understanding when I first graduated.”

For more than 15 years, Glerum has been giving back to UW-Whitewater, re-establishing his roots with the campus community in a number of ways.

He serves as an advisor to the finance program, the university’s most popular major for the last eight years. He also has forged close ties with the board of the UW-Whitewater Foundation, where he is the board treasurer and chair of the investment committee.

His presence on campus also comes through the tangible act of guest lecturing in finance classes and mentoring students.

“I’ve really achieved some interesting connections,” Glerum said. “I’ve written a number of recommendations that have helped get these students into graduate school.”

He adds, “I’ve done a lot of informal advising, in terms of students’ job searches. I always tell them, ‘I’m getting just as much out of this as you are.’”

Glerum also happily dispenses advice for students transitioning into their first full-time job after graduation.

“I have a whole thing where I tell them how important it is to keep your head down at that first job,” he said. “When they ask you to do something, do it faster and better than they ask. Don’t ask for the next job; impress them with what they’re asking you to do.”

As he closes out his career, Glerum said it has been a satisfying experience filled with personal and professional highlights. Giving back to UW-Whitewater has only enhanced the overall experience.

“It’s been really interesting coming full circle and spending time on campus,” he said. “I think about giving back to these students. I didn’t have access to a lot of people like me when I was going to school there. I’ve tried really hard to be open with the students.”

He points out that a professional role such as his was not even part of the job market in the early 1990s.

“What I had was good, core fundamental skills, the ability to connect with people and the ability to communicate,” Glerum said as he looks back at his greatest takeaways upon earning his bachelor’s degree. “I attribute a lot of that to my time at Whitewater.”