Lee Slater grew up in Long Beach, Long Island, an Atlantic Ocean beach community close to New York City. He attended public school there (skipped fourth grade) and studied engineering and business management at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Following college, Lee proudly served as an officer in the US Army in Europe, where he traveled, skied (a hobby he has loved since college) and experienced European culture. Returning to New York, Lee attended the MBA program at New York University in the evenings while he worked full time during the day. He ran his own printing business for a number of years before entering financial services, partly as a result of his own divorce.

Having gone through a divorce, Lee understands the emotional and financial trauma that clients feel first hand and is able to use that personal experience to help make their lives better.