At Prairie, Kanwar Singh '85 learned the importance of making people feel seen. It was a lesson he never forgot.

The city of Chicago knows a thing or two about great teams and driven leaders. For the entirety of the nineties, Jordan’s Bulls wreaked havoc on the NBA, kicking off their epic run by taking home the Larry O’Brien trophy in the summers of 1991, 1992, and 1993. Pop culture ran with it, routinely using the phrase back-to-back-to-back to describe the Bulls’ prolonged, seemingly inevitable, success. Not only was the slogan a hat tip to the sequentiality of the years, but also the way in which all great teams attack their work – by having each other’s back.

Like the city in which he has established himself as a next-era innovator in the wealth management industry, Kanwar Singh understands how the dynamics of teamwork and leadership can translate into remarkable, prolonged success. 

As Managing Director at Rockefeller’s Global Family Office, Kanwar helps founders and families design, organize, and operate values-aligned wealth platforms. Rooting his work in strategy and integrity, he focuses on integrating purpose, equity, and deep relationships into private wealth management. He has built his life and career around the idea that wealth should serve as a tool for transformation, not just accumulation. 

“After 17 years in the industry, Kanwar felt called to challenge the status quo,” it reads on his website bio. “He realized his ultra-high-net-worth clients have the power to create conscious momentum toward more intentional outcomes.” 

The importance of relationships. Creating – whether art or music or a family legacy – with intention. These were lessons Singh first learned at Prairie, back when he was just Juju from Racine, a dreamer with big questions and bigger aspirations. 

“I truly can’t overstate the impact Prairie has had on my life and journey,” says Singh. “I learned what it means to build authentic relationships and to care deeply about others, just as every one of my teachers did for me. Prairie also gave me a global lens, exposing me to classmates from all over the world and helping me understand that we are all part of something larger than ourselves.”

Man On a Mission

Prairie cracked something open inside Kanwar Singh. In Wind Point he discovered a love for performing, something he still does every time he takes the stage with his popular Chicago-area cover band. He spent time as an exchange student in Paris. He confronted questions about morality and spirituality in classes with Diane Breach. He sang and played guitar with Pat Badger. He spun clay with Dave Drewek. He spent summers on the tennis courts with Harold Swanson. 

“I was seen,” says Singh. “I began to understand that thriving as my full, authentic self was not only possible, but welcomed.”

Today, he continues to thrive. Prior to joining Rockefeller earlier this year, Singh served as Managing Director at Merrill Lynch’s Private Banking and Investment Group in Chicago. There, his own team went back-to-back-to-back, recognized among Forbes’ Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Singh, too, earned individual accolades for his work, landing a spot on Forbes’ Best-In-State Wealth Advisors list in 2022, 2023, and 2024. 

Learn to love the journey. Yearn to put in the effort. Understand the impact that can materialize from logging innumerable moments of focused effort. These are not cliches; they’re gospel for anybody trying to reach the pinnacle. 

Kanwar Singh’s journey has taken him from Prairie to Northwestern University, from Boston University School of Law to a career as a lawyer at Kirkland & Ellis and Baker McKenzie, from a career at Merrill Lynch to Rockefeller. His success is a byproduct of his obsession with purpose – both discovering his own, and helping others find theirs. 

“I want to help create a world where every person can live fully as their most alive and authentic self,” he says. “That’s been my personal journey, and it’s the mission I try to carry forward in everything I do.”

In a city known for its legacies, Kanwar Singh is crafting quite the story.

We look forward to celebrating Kanwar and the rest of the 2025 Hall of Fame inductees on Saturday, June 14th. Click here to register for the Alumni Weekend Celebration and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.