Stephanie Link: From One of 3 Women on a 500-Person Trading Floor to Wall Street CIO

At 22, Stephanie Link took a seat on a Dean Witter trading desk with 500 people. She was one of three women, she sat directly across from the head trader, and she didn't say a word for three months. Thirty-five years later, she is Chief Investment Officer at Hightower Advisors, a regular voice on CNBC, and one of the most respected investors on Wall Street. On this episode of Uncorked, Bill Green sits down with Stephanie at his New Jersey vineyard to talk about how she got there.Stephanie shares the habits that built her career. She arrived before the head trader every morning, became the top institutional salesperson at Prudential nine years out of ten, and then ran its research department. She also tells the story of calling Jim Cramer the night before her first day to turn down the job so she could stay home with her newborn daughter. His answer was to offer her three days a week at home, years before anyone worked remotely. That led to seven years together and some competitive 3 a.m. treadmill races. For anyone starting out, her advice is simple: find a mentor, show up in person, and surprise people by doing more than they asked.Bill and Stephanie also talk markets. She explains why the economy has been stronger than she expected and why the AI boom is lifting much more than tech, including data centers, cooling systems, the power grid, and energy. She also covers why she won't bet against the American consumer and why she thinks we're only in the third inning of AI. In the lightning round, she reveals her first stock pick (it dropped 20% in a week), her favorite investing book, and the Andy Grove line that keeps her on her toes. And they do it all over a glass of Saddlehill's barrel-aged Chardonnay and Proprietor's Blend.