Business Profile — Chris Nielsen brings his ethic of responsibility to his Edward Jones branch.
For Chris Nielsen, the Santa Ynez Valley isn’t just a place to live; it’s the place he calls home — in every sense of the word. With roots that extend deep into the rich, fertile soil, he is a native son who has traveled the world and returned home to raise his family and serve his community.
A financial adviser with Edward Jones, Nielsen was raised in Solvang and graduated from Santa Ynez Valley High School.
After earning a degree in agricultural engineering at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, he joined the Marine Corps.
During his 20 years of active duty, he found himself stationed at various bases throughout the United States and in Korea, Japan, North Africa and the Middle East.
He participated in Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield, and in Operation Restore Hope, a United States initiative designed to create a protected environment for conducting humanitarian operations in the southern half of Somalia.
When he retired from the Marines in 2006 — having achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel—he returned to Solvang with his wife, Diana, and their children, twin sons Ben and Kyle and daughter Gillian.
“I am a very fortunate individual to have been born and raised in the Santa Ynez Valley,” said Nielsen. “That’s why I wanted to come back here.
I wanted my children to know what it’s like to grow up with such deep roots in a wonderful community.”
Nielsen grew up on Willow Drive in Solvang, with his extended family almost within shouting distance. His aunt and uncle lived only three houses away, and his grandparents’ home was “around the corner around and up the street,” he said. “Another aunt and uncle were just a street away.”
Nielsen’s parents subsequently built a home off Quail Valley Road, which, he said, “was a few doors up from my sister and her children.” Nielsen and his wife acquired the lot adjacent to his mother’s. “Now my kids have the same family closeness growing up that I did,” he said.
Nielsen is of Danish ancestry. His grandfather, Christen Valdimir (C.V.) Nielsen, was a carpenter who came to Solvang in 1917. He met Anna Roth, whose family had moved from Ferndale, California, to Solvang in 1911.
“She was one of the first students to attend Atterdag College,” Nielsen noted. C.V. and Anna married and had three children—Daryl, Alton and Thora Mae. In 1948, C.V. founded Nielsen Building Materials, a full-service building material dealer.
Daryl and Alton, Chris Nielsen’s father, helped run the business and were joined later by Thora’s husband, Andy Andersen. Today, Nielsen Building Material is managed by C.V.’s grandson, Ken Andersen. “I was able to take what made me who I am and put it in service to our nation,” Nielsen said of his dedication to the Marine Corps. “That’s what I chose to do rather than run the family business.
At the time my father retired, I was a young captain, just back from the first Gulf War, and I felt I hadn’t completed our family’s obligation to the country.” When he returned to Solvang, Nielsen decided to become an Edward Jones advisor with his own branch in the Valley. “After we built our home in Solvang, I opened the door and realized I didn’t have a battalion of Marines to lead,” Nielsen recalled.
“But I had managed budgets in the Corps, and I had always been an investor.” Given his experience and acumen, financial advising was a natural fit. “Watching my father run a business taught me good principles about how to be prudent with your money and how to take care of what you’ve earned,” he continued. “And my job in the Corps was taking care of marines and their families.
As an officer, regardless of your technical specialty, you’re a leader of Marines. You are responsible for their ability to execute their mission and for their health and welfare. Now I have a lot of clients for whom I have the same sense of responsibility.”
Outside of Edward Jones, Nielsen is active in the community. Among other involvement, he serves on the boards of directors of Elverhoj Museum and Atterdag Village of Solvang (formerly the Solvang Lutheran Home), and is a member of the American Legion and the president of the Danish Brotherhood in America. “These are all wonderful organizations, and I am very fortunate to have been able to serve the community in ways that are very meaningful to me,” he said.
INFORMATION: Chris Nielsen , financial officer at Edward Jones, is located at 175-H McMurray Road in Buellton. He can be reached at 805.688.8352.
Sorry, comments are closed for this post.