Alumni’s Grounding in Liberal Arts Launched Longtime International Careers, Lifelong Philanthropy

Guy and Cathy Gronquist as students in 1978.

Alumni Cathy (BA ’77 MBA’78) and Guy (BA ’77 MA ’80) Gronquist’s Denver roots run deep. Guy was born and raised here, and Cathy [Davern] spent a couple years living in University of Denver housing as a child while her dad served as dean of students in the business school and earned an EdD in education.

“My brother and I had our own sprinkler key and had a lot of fun when it was hot running through the sprinklers to cool off,” she said.

The recipient of an undergraduate honors scholarship, Guy earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 1977. He tried a semester at the University of Denver Law School before deciding law was not his chosen path and went on to earn a master’s degree in history.

Likewise, the recipient of an honors scholarship, Cathy was part of the first cohort of the former five-year “3 +2” program. She earned a BA in history with a minor in English in the College of Arts and Sciences culminating in an MBA from the business school and studied in London junior year.

The couple met after she returned to complete her undergraduate coursework and honors thesis. “Guy was working on his master’s and our mutual Professor of English History Michael Pulman [with whom they became lifelong friends] asked me to come and talk to his class on Tudor England,” she said.

The alumni and current CAHSS Campaign Council members immediately hit it off and continued to date while finishing their degrees.

Following her graduation Cathy briefly worked for Union Pacific Railroad in Omaha, Nebraska before returning to Denver to assume a position in finance for Mountain Bell [now Century Link]. Meanwhile, Guy finished his master’s and the couple married before Guy returned to England to enter a PhD program in English History at the University of Cambridge.

Forging Careers in International Finance

Cathy’s position at Mountain Bell led to a job with Salomon Brothers in New York, where she was befriended by Michael Taradash, an older colleague “who serendipitously had also gone to the University of Denver,” she said. “We had so much to talk about, and he became quite a champion and introduced me to so many people.”

Taradash helped her land an interview for a position at Morgan Stanley which offered her the option of working in London. She joined the firm where she rose through the ranks and retired as a managing director after 27 years.

When Guy finished his PhD, he took a job in the then booming investment banking field in London so they could remain in the city they had both come to love.

When asked how the couple managed to raise their two daughters Augusta and Elizabeth while juggling high-powered, international careers, both called it challenging and alluded to building a strong partnership and relying on lots of outside support.

“Fortunately, they have wonderful nannies in London and that’s what you must do,” Cathy said. “Guy [who had clients worldwide including Australia, New Zealand and North America] would have to go off for two weeks at a time.”

To meet with her clients throughout continental Europe, Cathy would leave on the first flight in the morning and return on a flight that night to be with their girls.

“We always had an unspoken rule that when we were both in London at least one of us would get home to read them their bedtime story,” Guy said.

While living in England, the pair developed an affection for Santa Fe through former Professor Pulman who retired there with his then partner Terrance Tarr, former DU Professor of Spanish History.

“Michael really has played a pivotal role in our lives,” Guy said. Cathy added that “when I was still in Denver and Guy was in England, I would spend Sunday afternoons watching the Broncos and refinishing furniture with Terry and then they would feed me dinner.”

Pulman shared the couples’ love for opera and gifted them a week in Santa Fe to attend the opera there as a belated wedding present in 1988.

Smitten with the music and the city, the Gronquists began visiting Santa Fe from London with their children twice a year — at Christmas and during opera season. “Cathy’s parents were in Phoenix and mine were in Denver, so it was a neutral meeting spot,” Guy explained.

Promoting the Value of Liberal Arts

When asked how their liberal arts education has helped them personally and professionally, Cathy recalled her parents’ reaction to her decision to major in history. “Even though my dad was an academic and my mom was a teacher, they were both like— ‘are you sure?’” she said. Nevertheless, she attributes her successful career to that choice.

“When I went into investment banking, had clients all over the world and then became a manager and had to write all these proposals and reviews, it really had nothing to do with numbers,” she said. “I think a liberal arts education is the best foundational step any young person can take. You learn to write, think, analyze and argue effectively. No business school, with all due respect to DU’s very fine institution, can give you that.”

Guy agreed and added that “since most of my clients were in the British Empire, I could go to New Zealand, Australia or Canada and have a shared experience of history that gave me a non-business entre.”

He believes his education instilled an appreciation for other cultures and how people do business. “It allows you to engage in wide-ranging conversations that are not necessarily germane to the business you’re trying to accomplish but at the end of the day, help you circle back to win that business. It gives you integrity and respect because if you try to bull through it in the American way, chances are you’re going to lose.”

Guy recommends that CAHSS students emphasize to potential employers that their decision to get a liberal arts degree “speaks to their curiosity about the world. It gives you the ability to understand and figure out ways to respond to the challenges we face today in business that are different from when I graduated. I think AI, for example, will become an increasing threat to people who are unable to position themselves to outthink it.” 

Cathy advises students to “make sure you set yourself up for as much flexibility as you can professionally because I think staying in the same place for 27 years is probably a thing of the past.”

She added that “women are still bad at putting themselves forward for a job. Men say, ‘I’m not completely qualified for this but that doesn’t matter; I’ll apply.’ Whereas women say, ‘I’m only 97 percent qualified so I can’t apply.’ But you need to just go for positions that will help you grow, continue to grow and learn something new every day.”

Finding a New Home and Building Community in Santa Fe

When the couple decided to retire early in 2008, they consulted with their children and together chose Santa Fe as a place they all agreed they could call home.

After relocating, Guy became involved with the Episcopal Church of the Holy Faith and Chair of the Board of Directors for the Santa Fe Interfaith Community Shelter where the couple volunteered regularly over the next decade.

“In Santa Fe at the time, 25 people in a city of 65,000 were freezing to death every year,” Guy said. “One of my proudest accomplishments is having been instrumental in getting the shelter up and running.”

He also got involved in the Episcopal Diocese, later became Chair of the Museum of Mexico Foundation and currently serves as a trustee of their beloved Santa Fe Opera.

Soon after the couple had relocated to Santa Fe, Pulman, an avid gardener who had helped them find their new home, introduced Cathy to the Executive Director of the Santa Fe Botanical Garden who invited her to join the Board of Directors, where she ultimately became Board President.

“The Botanical Garden was just a plot of juniper and pine, really, because they could never quite envision how to raise the money to build it,” she said. “There were three of us who came on the board at the same time, and all knew something about raising money. We put together a strong case for financially supporting the garden.”

The first phase opened in 2013, two more phases have completed since and a fourth is pending. “We went from a dusty, brown landscape to a gorgeous Southwestern botanical garden,” Cathy said. “It’s right across the street from all the museums so it’s an amazing place for people to visit.”  She still docents at the garden regularly.

Most recently, Cathy, whose passions include choral singing, joined the Board of Directors of the Santa Fe Desert Chorale and just assumed the presidency.

Paying It Forward as CAHSS Alumni

The couple’s mutual gratitude for their university experience prompted them to give back early on. While living in London, they hosted alumni events at home and have begun hosting one in Santa Fe. “People come to our house for dinner and then we all go to the opera together,” Cathy said. “It’s really fun and a nice getaway for people in Denver.”

As members of the CAHSS Campaign Council, they work with other alumni to support students, faculty and college initiatives including CAHSS’ participation in the University of Denver’s recently launched The Denver Difference campaign.

“Guy and Cathy have been longtime supporters for enhancing the student experience in CAHSS,” said CAHSS Dean Rhonda Gonzales. “We are thankful for their support and honored to have them as members of the CAHSS Campaign Council as we launch this transformative campaign for our college.”

The Gronquists are especially excited about efforts to advance the paid “Internships for All” and first-gen programs and remain enthusiastic proponents of participating in alumni activities. “All of us were formed in some way by the institution we went to and it’s a great way to give back not only financially but of your time and expertise,” Cathy said.

Guy emphasizes the value of networking that alumni involvement offers, especially for more recent graduates. “It was very fortuitous for Cathy to have met Michael Taradash at Salomon Brothers all those years ago,” he said. “It was a catalyst professionally that really helped get her where she wanted to go.”

As far as advice for graduating CAHSS students, Cathy insists that “nothing sells like passion. Sometimes Guy would be working on a deal all night, come home, shower and go back, and you can’t do that unless it’s something that really interests you. You do a disservice to yourself if you don’t keep looking for your passion until you find it.”

Her innate passion for people including mentoring younger women continues to drive her. “I loved my clients from all over Europe and some of those people became good friends. My colleagues were very bright, very focused, some a little too driven perhaps but it made for a vibrant environment. And then I started managing people, loved it and really hit my stride. It was fun — it was wild!”