With high performance and rigor at her core, this Morgan Stanley MAKER has built a thriving career.
Hard work has always been second nature to Anthea Tjuanakis Cox—a value she attributes to her father. A former pro soccer player turned salesman, he grew up in a small Greek village where physical labor was respected, excellence was expected and grit was assumed, a mindset he passed on to his daughters.
“No one ever had to tell me to work hard,” Anthea says. “Striving for excellence is just who I am.”
Much of what shaped Anthea’s leadership style began on the soccer field. Her father coached her and her sister from a young age, and sports quickly became a defining influence. In high school, she excelled in lacrosse and went on to play in college—a foundation that still informs her professional ethos.
“I’m a team sport athlete in everything that I do,” she says. “You really can be greater than the sum of your parts.”
The values of collaboration and accountability drive her work at Morgan Stanley, where she serves as Head of Financial Planning at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. It’s a role that demands cross-functional partnership. Where product, field, marketing, research and analytics all intersect, Anthea thrives at the center, ensuring alignment while fostering a culture that enables individuals to thrive.
“High-performing teams hold themselves—and each other—to high standards,” she says. “But they also show up for one another when things get hard.”
Clarity is part of her leadership toolkit. Anthea is intentional about setting a strategic vision, articulating goals and ensuring people understand how their roles contribute to the larger mission. The importance of knowing our collective objective and how each individual contributes to it was something she learned on the stage. Anthea started acting in live productions at age 8, which taught her public speaking, how to connect with audiences and to improvise when things inevitably go off-script.
“The only thing 100 percent predictable is that you will face challenges, personally and professionally,” she says. “The key is having the right people around you when they do.”
Every day, Anthea shows up in a way that elevates the energy and the overall performance of others. “I cannot possibly be successful unless I'm empowering those around me to be their best selves,” she says. And that, in turn, gives her fuel.
Anthea, a Stanford graduate with an MBA from Yale, takes an introspective approach to her work, continually assessing and reassessing how to set herself and others up for long-term success. She sees change as an invitation to reflect and challenge oneself. It isn’t just inevitable—it’s instructive.
“Moments of transition are opportunities,” she says. “If you lean in, stay curious and invite others’ perspectives, it can change how you’re seen—and how far you go.”
She should know, given her unconventional career journey. Anthea started out teaching art to low-income elementary students in Oakland, Calif., and later transitioned to a major strategy consulting firm. She then joined a startup, where she leveraged her background in the arts in a business setting, leading the strategy and operations for the artists and graphic designers who submitted content to the site. That experience taught her how to translate creativity into business results—and gave her the confidence to take on more complex challenges.
“I wasn’t tied to a specific industry,” she explains. “I just knew I wanted to solve hard problems and be somewhere I could authentically support the culture.”
That criterion led her to Morgan Stanley, a place she says values integrity, compassion, and high performance in equal measure. “If those things aren’t in place, I can’t do my best work.”
She was recently named a Morgan Stanley MAKER, Class of 2025 —a distinction reserved for innovators, advocates and groundbreakers who are advancing leadership and creating meaningful change. The recognition, she says, is both humbling and energizing.
For Anthea, financial planning isn’t just about numbers—it’s about improving lives. “Just like education, financial health is critical to long-term success,” she says. “We help clients reduce stress and improve their quality of life. That’s a rare and powerful kind of impact.”
To further that impact, in 2024 she partnered with the Foundation for Financial Planning to make it easier for Morgan Stanley’s CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP®) professionals to give back to underserved communities.
Ultimately, Anthea views growth as a lifelong pursuit—and discomfort as a necessary part of it. “Being challenged is good for us,” she explains. “It forces us to stretch, to grow and to expand our impact. But none of that is possible without self-awareness.”
Her final piece of advice? Make space to reflect.
“Understand your strengths, and be honest about your blind spots,” she says. “That’s how you position yourself for success—and accelerate your ability to get there."
