Joseph J. Duran, CFA®
Chief Executive Officer
Director
Executive Team
Joseph J. Duran, CFA®, is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founding Partner of United Capital Financial Partners, Inc. and is a recognized expert in the field of entrepreneurship. United Capital is one of the fastest growing financial advisory firms in the country and is a Transformational Acquirer of financial advisory firms. United Capital currently oversees over 9 billion dollars in total assets. Since its founding in 2005, the firm has grown to over 140 employees with 19 offices around the country and thousands of clients.
Prior to starting UCFP, Joe was President of GE Private Asset Management, formerly Centurion Capital Management. He joined Centurion in 1992 when it was a small independent adviser and led the company to rapid growth with billions under management, culminating in the sale to GE Financial in 2001.
During his tenure as the business leader he created valuable firms with nationwide coverage, built unique investment solutions and consummated many multi-million dollar acquisitions. Joe actively raised capital from two private equity funds (Grail Partners, LLC and Putnam Lovell Partners) to invest in both firms, with over 15 million dollars of capital invested in each.
Joe holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and received MBA degrees from Columbia University in New York and the University of California at Berkeley. He did his undergraduate work at Saint Louis University earning a BS in Finance & Marketing.
Joe is the author of two nationally published books: Start It, Sell It and Make a Mint: 20 Wealth Creating Secrets for Business Owners (Wiley and Sons, 2004), and The First Time Investors Workbook (McGraw Hill, 2001). Joe is a frequent contributor to a wide variety of media outlets, including CNBC, Bloomberg TV and radio, CNNfn and dozens of radio shows. His articles have appeared in over a hundred magazines and he has been featured on numerous websites.
Gary L. Roth, COO, CFO
Chief Operating Officer /
Chief Financial Officer / Director
Executive Team
As Chief Operating Officer of UCFP and UCFA, Mr. Roth is responsible for execution of the company’s business plan and for coordination among the key operational functions of the company, and serves on the Executive Committee and on the Board of Directors of UCFA.
Prior to joining United Capital, Mr. Roth was a co-founder and Senior Executive of AssureNet Ltd., a leading Internet Application Service Provider for the Insurance and Financial Services industries. Mr. Roth spent over seven years at AssureNet in leadership positions in areas including marketing, sales, operations, corporate development and capital formation. In addition, Mr. Roth spent two years managing the Brokerage and Bank business channels for E-Z Data, Inc., a major provider of Contact Management and Practice Management solutions for Financial Services professionals.
Mr. Roth holds MBA degrees from the Columbia University Business School in New York, New York and the University of California at Berkeley, Haas Business School in Berkeley California. In addition, he graduated Cum Laude from Columbia College, Columbia University, with a BA in History.
Caryn Westman
Corporate Secretary, Senior Vice President/Enterprise Risk Management
Ms. Westman is a founding member of the firm and is currently responsible for all corporate governance and regulatory compliance, and serves on the Executive Committee and on the acquisitions and due diligence teams.
Ms. Westman has been in the financial services industry for over 20 years, including more than 15 years in handling Investment Adviser regulatory matters. Prior to joining UCFP, Ms. Westman was the Corporate Secretary and Regulatory Compliance Consultant for United Capital Partners, LLC, a private investment group handling private investments in public securities.
Ms. Westman previously served for 10 years as Corporate Secretary, Director of Compliance, and Regulatory Compliance Consultant for Centurion Capital Group Inc., parent to Centurion Capital Management Corp. and Centurion Trust Company, a privately-held professional asset management firm with over $2 billion of Client assets under management at that time. Centurion Capital Group consisted of six affiliated corporations including investment management and a trust company. In this capacity, Ms. Westman was responsible for corporate governance and Investment Adviser Act regulatory compliance. She also served on the acquisitions and due diligence teams and acted as chief liaison with all outside corporate, securities and ERISA counsel. After Centurion was acquired by GE Financial Assurance Holdings, Inc. in 2001, Ms. Westman served as a consultant for investment advisory regulatory compliance and corporate governance matters to GE Private Asset Management, Inc. (now Genworth Financial Asset Management, Inc.) and GE Financial Trust Company (now Genworth Financial Trust Company).
Ms. Westman holds an MA in Secondary Education/Art and English endorsements and a BA in English and Writing, both from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. She also holds FINRA Series 7, 24, and 63 securities licenses and the NASAA Series 65 Uniform Investment Adviser Law Exam.
Michael Capelle, MBA
Senior Vice President, Investment Management
Executive Team
Mr. Capelle is responsible for United Capital's investment platform and is the chairperson of the Investment Committee. In these roles he oversees portfolio development, manager review, and investment operations.
Prior to joining United Capital, Mr. Capelle worked in private asset management performing investment management and financial planning services. Prior to 2000, Mr. Capelle worked at Intel Corporation for 10 years where he held various management positions within business planning, operations, and engineering.
Mr. Capelle earned an MBA at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he also graduated with an MS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He has a BS in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois, and has passed the NASAA Series 65 Investment Adviser Law exam.