Cheryl D. Creuzot, CFP®, J.D., LL.M., MBA
President Emeritus
Cheryl D. Creuzot, a 37-year industry veteran, is currently President Emerita of Wealth Development Strategies, LLC, since stepping down as President and Chief Executive Officer, a position she has held since 2000. Wealth Development Strategies, one of Houston’s oldest comprehensive financial planning firms, offers contemporary, personalized solutions for individuals and business professionals who wish to protect, grow, and efficiently distribute their wealth. The boutique firm consists of professionals who combine extensive financial experience and expertise to create objective personalized client solutions.
She was recently appointed in 2022 to the Valic Company 1 Funds Board, and was appointed to the Board of Bancorp (TBBK) in 2021 where she serves on the Audit and Risk Committees. Ms. Creuzot carries the same spirit of service delivery to her numerous civic and charitable endeavors. Ms. Creuzot serves on the BeyGood Foundation (Finance Committee), the Board of Visitors of the MD Anderson Cancer Center (Executive Committee), as well as the Vice Chair of the Board of The Frenchy’s Companies, a 54-year-old family-owned restaurant, franchisor and food processing organization. Ms. Creuzot is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors, The Texas State Bar Association, and The Financial Planning Association.
Ms. Creuzot was appointed in 2020 by the Mayor and the Houston City Council and sworn in as a Commissioner of the Port of Houston Authority. She is the first African American woman to serve in the Port’s 116-year history. She serves on the Audit, Governance, Dredge Task Force, and the Community Relations Committees.
Her past board experiences include Amegy Bank, Unity National Bank (Chair of the Audit, Compliance, and Investment Committees), Trustee of the University of Houston Foundation (Chair, Investment Committee), and The Greater Houston Partnership. Past board experience also includes The University of Houston Board of Visitors (Chairman), The University of Houston Alumni Organization (Chairman), The University of Houston Law School Association, and The Dean’s Advisory Board of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at The University of Houston, The Houston Museum of African American Culture, The Ensemble Theatre, and Project Row Houses.
In addition to extensive civic service, Ms. Creuzot has received several political appointments. Ms. Creuzot was appointed by the Democratic National Committee to serve as the state co-chair of the Women’s Leadership Forum. Most notably, in 1993, Ms. Creuzot was appointed by the Governor to a six-year term on the Texas Public Finance Authority Board, a politic and corporate body created to provide financing for state agency facilities. Ms. Creuzot served as Vice Chairman of the Authority from 1995 to 1997.
A published author of many articles on the subject of financial planning, Ms. Creuzot is a resource for print and on-line media and has been quoted in MONEY, Mutual Funds, Black Enterprise, and Essence magazines. She previously co-hosted the local talk show radio KPRC’s Organizing Your Life, and also hosted the local 102.5 FM radio show called Let’s Talk Money.
Mrs. Creuzot recently published her first book entitled Real Lives. Real Money, which was featured in the November 2017 issue of Essence Magazine.
A sought-after speaker, Ms. Creuzot was a keynote speaker for M.D. Anderson’s Center’s Leadership Institute in 2022, and keynote speaker during the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Mu Kappa Omega Chapter Retreat. She was also a keynote speaker for the 2020 and 2019 Financial Literacy Conference for the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. In 2018 Ms. Creuzot was the keynote speaker for the Houston Area Urban League Young Professionals and the Association of Women Corporate Counsel. She was a keynote speaker at the 2017 Essence Festival, and the featured speaker for the National Sales Network that same year. She has also spoken at the 2012 Women’s Leadership Academy Summit, the 2010 African American Financial Professionals Conference, and the 2008 National Bar Association Conference. Ms. Creuzot was the 2009 commencement speaker for American Intercontinental University. Ms. Creuzot has also addressed Essence Magazine’s, Women Who are Shaping the World Leadership Summit, the State of the Black Union, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Megafest, the National Conference of Black MBAs and the Junior League of Houston. In 2002, she was selected to participate in the Center for Houston’s Future Leadership Forum, a business and community partnership.
Ms. Creuzot’s community and alma mater have recognized her for her outstanding leadership. In 2018 she was named one of Houston’s Top 30 Women. The Houston Area Urban League awarded her with the Marguerite Ross Barnett Leadership Award in 2017, and the Houston Chronicle named her as one of the Top Businesswomen to Watch in 2016. The University of Houston, African American Studies Department, presented her with the Marguerite Ross Barnett Leadership Award in 2014, the same year she was inducted into the Greater Houston Women’s Hall of Fame. The Houston Woman Magazine honored her as one of the 50 Most Influential Women of 2013. Ms. Creuzot is a 2012 Honoree of the Houston Easter Seal’s Hats Off to Mothers and was the recipient of the Corporate Sector Achievement Award from the University of Houston Law Alumni Association (2012). Additionally, she was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Houston (2011). Ms. Creuzot has been recognized three times by The Houston March of Dimes (2004, 2006 and 2008). She received The Women of Distinction Award from the Houston Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation (2008), and the National Black MBA Leadership Empowerment Award from the Houston Chapter (2004), along with the Super Achiever Award from the Greater Houston YMCA (2001).
Ms. Creuzot is a four-time alumna of the University of Houston – the University of Houston Bauer College (M.B.A. with honors, December 2012), The University of Houston Law Center LL.M. (Taxation, 1999), the University of Houston Law Center J.D. (1992) and the University of Houston (B.A. with honors, 1981).
She is a member of the Texas State Bar, the Financial Planning Association, and a former Top of the Table member of the Million Dollar Round Table. She carries the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) professional designation and has been named one of Texas Monthly’s Houston Region’s Five Star Wealth Managers (2012, 2014 and 2015) as well as a Top 100 Advisor in the country and Financial Planner of the month by Mutual Funds Magazine (2001 and 2002).
A native of Washington, D.C., Ms. Creuzot has called Houston home since entering the University of Houston as an undergraduate freshman. She is married and has three children and is most proud of the additional five children she and her husband helped raise.
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States, which it authorizes use of by individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.
[i]Third Ward, Steeped in Tradition of Self-reliance and Achievement, by Ezell Wilson, Houston History, Vol.8,No.2, pages 31-35.
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**The overall evaluation of a top advisor reflects an average of all respondents and may not be representative of any one client's evaluation. The award is not an indicator of future performance or success. Criteria is based on information gathered by reporters and editors of Mutual Funds magazine who research planners based on experience, credentials and other related resources.