Throughout his career, Hardt has maintained a deep desire to build meaningful relationships and help others advance their own pursuits and passions. He began his finance career in 1993 with Wachovia Bank. Over a span of seven years he served in a number of capacities, during which he managed relationships with a variety of individual, family, and both for- profit and not-for-profit clients.

Hardt returned to school in 2000 where he earned a Master’s in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Wake Forest University. During his time at Wake Forest, Hardt served as a Summer Associate with Lehman Brothers in New York.

Hardt joined Alex. Brown in 2002 and specializes in working with business owners, entrepreneurs, professionals, family offices and a select number of institutional clients. He utilizes his years of experience to bring thought leadership and execution to a wide variety of financial priorities. Hardt also works closely with family & family office clients to plan for & address priorities that extend beyond financial wealth, strengthen family unity and perpetuate multi-generational success.

In addition to an MBA from Wake Forest, Hardt holds a BA in Economics from Hampden-Sydney College. He earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2003 and is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of North Carolina. Hardt also holds the Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) designation and provides comprehensive planning to business owners and privately held companies on matters such as value acceleration and successful transitions.

Hardt is married and has two daughters. He and his family are active members of Two Cities Church in Winston-Salem. Throughout his career Hardt has served in volunteer roles with a number of organizations including First Presbyterian Church, Boy Scouts of America, Building Together Ministries, Samaritan Ministries, Hampden-Sydney College and Wake Forest Schools of Business. Hardt is an Eagle Scout and enjoys a wide variety of outdoor pursuits. He also enjoys traveling with family and spending time in the early morning “gloom” with his F3 brothers, where he is better known as “Cherry Pie”.