Conrad Franey was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, attending De Smet Jesuit High School and earning a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri - Columbia. Franey worked as a foreign correspondent for The Stars & Stripes in Darmstadt, Germany before returning to the States to continue his journalism career for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Sporting News and other publications. He joined Maritz in 1984 and enjoyed ten years in the international travel field, spending the last five years with Maritz located in the New York City area selling incentive and travel programs. In 1994, Franey returned to St. Louis to become the sixth employee of GatewayCDI, a promotional products distributor, as the vice president, sales. Franey eventually earned an equity position. At its peak, GatewayCDI employed 100 people with revenue of $35 million. GatewayCDI was purchased by Brand Addition in January 2016. In 2018, Franey launched his consulting company: Elements of Success Consulting Group. He also self-published his first book. He earned a master’s degree in classical history from Washington University in 2006. His interests include reading, travel, exercise and spending time with friends and family. Franey served as Chair of both the Annual Catholic Appeal and Catholic Charities of St. Louis. Of greatest importance, on January 31, 2014, Franey married Stephanie Re and is currently living happily ever after.