{"id":589636,"date":"2026-08-19T16:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T16:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/589636\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T16:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T16:32:11","slug":"the-healthy-advisor-max-kulyk-on-leading-with-authenticity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/589636\/","title":{"rendered":"The Healthy Advisor: Max Kulyk on Leading With Authenticity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">Growing up in a small Pennsylvania town, Max Kulyk knew from an early age that the identity others saw didn\u2019t fully match how he understood himself. Over the course of several decades, he built a career in financial services, raised a family, pursued theology and founded Chicory Wealth, all while continuing to explore questions of purpose, identity and authenticity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">After years of reflection and personal growth, Max made the decision to begin his gender transition at the age of 64. That experience deepened his understanding of what it means to feel truly seen, while also reinforcing his commitment to creating a workplace where employees, clients and advisors are supported.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">In this episode of The Healthy Advisor, host Diana Britton speaks with Max Kulyk, CEO and founder of Chicory Wealth, about his personal journey, his path into financial advice, and how his experiences shaped the culture and values of his firm. They discuss building an advisory business rooted in meaningful conversations, creating healthier workplaces, and the impact of authenticity on leadership, well-being and client relationships.<\/p>\n<p data-component=\"related-article\" class=\"RelatedArticle\">Related:<a class=\"RelatedArticle-RelatedContent\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wealthmanagement.com\/professional-development\/the-healthy-advisor-what-s-driving-advisor-wellbeing-with-michael-kitces\" target=\"_self\" data-discover=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Healthy Advisor: What\u2019s Driving Advisor Wellbeing with Michael Kitces<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-testid=\"content-image\" data-component=\"image\" class=\"ContentImage-Image ContentImage-Image_align_left\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/max-granddaughter.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"max-granddaughter.jpg\" title=\"max-granddaughter.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentImage-Link\">Max and his granddaughter before transitioning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">Max discusses:<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">How growing up as a member of the LGBTQ+ community influenced his personal and professional journey<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">Why his relationship with money led him from theology into a career in financial planning<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">How Chicory Wealth was built around advisor wellbeing, family support and a people-first culture<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">What inspired his decision to transition and how the experience changed his perspective<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">Why helping people feel understood has become a guiding principle for both leadership and client relationships<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-testid=\"content-image\" data-component=\"image\" class=\"ContentImage-Image ContentImage-Image_align_left\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Max_Recent.jpeg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Max_Recent.jpeg\" title=\"Max_Recent.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentImage-Link\">Max after transitioning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">Resources:<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">Connect With Max Kulyk:<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">Connect with Wealth Management:<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">About Our Guest:<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">Max Kulyk is the CEO and founder of Chicory Wealth, a fee-only financial life planning and sustainable wealth management firm. Since entering the financial services industry in 2002, Max has focused on helping people build healthier relationships with money by connecting financial decisions to their personal values, goals, and overall well-being.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">Before Max began his career in financial planning, he studied political philosophy and theology, earning a bachelor\u2019s degree from West Chester University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He is the author of Integrating Money and Meaning: Practices for a Heart-Centered Life.<\/p>\n<p data-component=\"related-article\" class=\"RelatedArticle\">Related:<a class=\"RelatedArticle-RelatedContent\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wealthmanagement.com\/professional-development\/the-healthy-advisor-carolyn-armitage-on-childhood-trauma-and-psilocybin-therapy\" target=\"_self\" data-discover=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Healthy Advisor: Carolyn Armitage on Childhood Trauma and Psilocybin Therapy<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">Outside of work, Max enjoys spending time with his wife, Dr. Wendy Farley, their four children, grandchild, family dog Teddy, and visiting Orcas Island in Washington. His interests also include pickleball, good beer, and time with family and friends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Growing up in a small Pennsylvania town, Max Kulyk knew from an early age that the identity others&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":589637,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[114,268,85,46,266,267],"class_list":["post-589636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-finance","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/589637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}