Joseph J. Duran, CFA®
Chief Executive Officer and Board of Directors Member
United Capital Financial Partners, Inc.
President, Board of Directors Member, and Investment
Committee Member
United Capital Investment Advisers, Inc.
Board of Directors Member
United Capital Financial Advisers, Inc.
Joseph J. Duran, CFA®, is the Chief Executive Officer and
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 8 billion dollars in total
assets. Since its founding in 2005, the firm has grown to over 100
employees with 13 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 leader of the firms he has built, he created national distribution teams, built unique financial products and consummated many multi-million dollar acquisitions. Joe actively raised capital from venture capital 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 has appeared on a wide variety of media outlets, including
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.
Patrick M. Bommarito, CFP
President and Board of Directors Member
United Capital Financial Partners, Inc.
Chairman and President
United Capital Financial Advisers, Inc.
Board of Directors Member and Investment Committee Member
United Capital Investment Advisers, Inc.
Mr. Bommarito is integrally involved and responsible for overall operations and development of processes for both United Capital investment advisory firms, in addition to providing strategic planning expertise at the holding company level and on its Board of Directors.
Prior to United Capital Financial Partners, Inc. (“UCFP”), Mr. Bommarito was President and Chief Executive Officer of Bommarito & Associates, a comprehensive financial, estate, and investment advisory firm (a Financial Advisory Branch of American Express Financial Advisors, Inc.). His many accomplishments and awards at American Express Financial Advisors, Inc. include Senior Platinum Financial Advisor, Hall of Fame member, Diamond Ring member, Alex Alexander Award, and Harvey Golub Award. After 16 years as a Senior Platinum Financial Advisor, Mr. Bommarito has been recognized as one of the top 1% of Certified Financial Planners in the adviser field force of American Express Financial Advisors, Inc.
Mr. Bommarito was conferred as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) in 1987 with concentrations in Comprehensive Financial Planning, Business Planning, Taxation, Risk Management, Investment Management, Retirement Planning and Estate Planning. He is qualified by exam to serve as an investment adviser representative having passed the Series 7 and 63 exams, and holds certain life and health insurance licenses. He also earned a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Central Michigan University, a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Walsh College of Accountancy and Business Administration, and attended the Harvard Business School for Executive Development.
He is a sought after domestic and international speaker for his informative discussions regarding the current state of the financial services industry. He is known for his client centric innovations and solutions to the innovator’s dilemma.
Mr. Bommarito is a member of the Institute of Certified Financial Planners, the International Association for Financial Planning, and the International Board of Standards and Practices for Certified Financial Planners.
Gary L. Roth, CFO
Chief Operating Officer/
Chief Financial Officer
United Capital Financial Partners, Inc.,
United Capital Financial Advisers, Inc.
United Capital Investment Advisers, Inc.
As Chief Operating Officer of UCFP, UCFA 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.
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
United Capital Financial Partners, Inc.
United Capital Financial Advisers, Inc.
United Capital Investment Advisers, Inc.
Ms. Westman is currently responsible for all corporate governance and regulatory compliance, and serves on the acquisitions and due diligence teams for all United Capital companies, as well as the Executive Committee.
Ms. Westman has been in the financial services industry for more than 20 years, including 15 years 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 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 trust companies. 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 a BA in English and Writing (summa cum laude) from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa and an AS in Fine Arts from Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California. She completed all coursework for an MA in Secondary Education with endorsements in art and English from Drake University (summa cum laude) in December 2004. She also holds NASD Series 7, 24, and 63 securities licenses and passed the NASAA Series 65 Uniform Investment Adviser Law Exam.
Todd Pack, MBA
Senior Vice President, Field Operations
United Capital Financial Advisers, Inc.
Todd Pack has senior responsibilities in the areas of continuing revenue operations of existing offices and the assessment and due diligence of potential acquisitions. This role includes conducting opportunity audits and due diligence reviews for the purpose of acquiring financial advisers. This responsibility includes, forecasting, budgeting, cultural fit and risk assessment. In addition, Mr. Pack is responsible for working with each office on client case design which includes investments and risk management. In conjunction with this role, Mr. Pack chairs the Product Committee, which is responsible for the due diligence and training of products offered by the firm. This duty includes oversight of all acquired firms and their staff to ensure the highest level of integrity is maintained. In this role, he is also responsible for broker/dealer compliance supervision serving as the Super OSJ
Prior to joining UCFA, Mr. Pack was the President of Virtual Management Solutions (VMS), LLC, a company that specialized in converting commission-based practices into fee based businesses. Prior to starting his own firm, Mr. Pack was the Chief Operations Officer of Bommarito & Associates, Inc. (franchise of American Express Financial Advisers, Inc. ) a comprehensive financial planning and advisory practice which managed a total of $350 million in client assets. In this position, Mr. Pack was responsible for day to day activities that included a comprehensive client service program, marketing, supervised financial controls and completed forecasting, monitored compliance operations, human resources and supervised all staff members.
Mr. Pack was also a featured speaker and the Chief Operations Officer of the Business Resource Center, a company providing training to financial advisers in a lecture format. The focus of the curriculum is to enable advisers to achieve consistent and predictable results through practice management techniques. Mr. Pack was also a Professor of Finance and Economics at the Walsh College of Accountancy and Business Administration in Troy, Michigan.
Mr. Pack received his MBA in Finance from the Walsh College of Accountancy and Business Administration in Troy, Michigan, and a BBA in Finance from the University of Michigan in Flint Michigan. He also graduated from St. Clair County Community College where he earned an AA in Criminal Justice. He has passed the NASD Series 7, 63, and 24 exams and the NASAA Series 66 Investment Advisers Law Exam. He also holds life insurance licenses with variable authorized.
Mark Ciucci, CFP®
Senior Vice President of Advice
United Capital Financial Advisers, Inc.
Investment Committee Member
United Capital Investment Advisers, Inc.
Mark Ciucci is currently responsible for field advice implementation at United Capital Financial Advisers, Inc. In this role, he assists in recruitment efforts for candidate acquisitions, as well as the subsequent training in the UCFA advice and deliverable models.
Prior to joining UCFA, Mr. Ciucci was a partner in the firm of Bommarito & Associates, Inc. (formerly Bommarito, Ciucci & Associates, Inc.), a comprehensive financial planning and advisory practice and franchise of American Express Financial Advisers, Inc., which managed a total of $350 million in client assets. Mr. Ciucci's experience also includes fifteen years in field management with American Express Financial Advisers, Inc., with a final position of Divisional Vice President in charge of field operations in the Greater Michigan Division.
Mr. Ciucci is a Certified Financial Planner™.
Mike Capelle, MBA
Senior Vice President, Investment Management
United Capital Investment Advisers, Inc.
Mr. Capelle serves as chairperson of UCFA’s Investment Committee and is responsible for performing overall investment research at United Capital Investment Advisers, Inc., (UCFA). In these roles he develops and maintains UCFA’s portfolios and investment strategies including the initial and ongoing due diligence, selection, and replacement of investment managers.
Prior to joining UCFA, 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 research and 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.
Brandon Gage
Senior Vice President, Technology
United Capital Financial Advisers, Inc.
Brandon Gage is currently responsible for technology. In this role, he is responsible for the development, installation, support and training of the technology platform used by individual adviser offices. He also works closely with individuals responsible for corporate technology.
Prior to joining UCFA, Mr. Gage was Network Administrator at Bommarito & Associates, Inc., a Comprehensive Financial Planning and Advisory Practice and franchise of American Express Financial Advisers, Inc. Mr. Gage is also the programmer for Boardwalk Technology Services, LLC, a technology company providing practice management software to fee-based financial advisers.
Matt Brinker
Vice President, Acquisitions
Matt Brinker is responsible for acquisitions development and strategic relationships. Matt identifies and maintains a pipeline of potential acquisition targets throughout the United States. Mr. Brinker serves as the point person during the acquisition process and heads the Partnership Development Program.
Prior to joining United Capital, Mr. Brinker was founder and President of Kelly Consulting Group, LLC., a San Francisco based business development firm. Mr. Brinker managed a team dedicated to providing marketing, operations, personnel and growth strategies to alternative investment managers. Prior to that, Mr. Brinker was a registered marketing associate for Citigroup/Smith Barney where he provided prime brokerage solutions, enhanced leverage, institutional sales coverage and capital introduction to emerging hedge fund managers in conjunction with teams in San Francisco and New York City. Prior to joining Citigroup/Smith Barney Mr. Brinker was a junior investment adviser for J. Daniel Brinker & Company; a Denver, Colorado based investment advisory firm that services high net worth individuals nationally.
Mr. Brinker holds a BA in Economics and Minor in Finance from the University of Colorado, Boulder and is currently obtaining his MBA from University of California, Irvine.
Jennifer Davis
Human Resources Manager
Ms. Balloch started with United Capital in 2006 as the Vice President of Field Operations and as the firm grew her responsibilities shifted to Human Resources. She is responsible for all Human Resource issues, including; hiring, terminations, staff development, record keeping, consulting with Senior Management on Human Resource issues as well as risk management as it pertains to the Human Resources area.
Prior to joining United Capital, Ms. Balloch successfully launched her own recruiting firm in 1998, focusing on leadership positions. Prior to that, Ms. Balloch was an Adviser for American Express Financial Advisors for more than five years, where she co-managed a new district as well as running her own financial planning practice. She left American Express to work with a friend who launched a new financial planning firm that started up with over 50 employees. Ms. Balloch then began her career as a Systems Analyst with IBM. A short time later, she moved to IBM's sales division as a Marketing Representative, where she became recognized as one of the top sales people within her industry.
Ms. Balloch earned her MBA from Michigan State University in Materials and Logistics Management and a BBA from Eastern Michigan University. She has also earned her CFP® and CLU designations.
Deborah Rees
Vice President, Acquisitions
Ms. Rees is responsible for managing United Capital’s M&A process including analysis of acquisition candidates. In this role, she also works with regional office Managing Directors to implement tuck-in acquisition strategies.
Through the course of her career, Ms. Rees has held key positions at investment banks and professional service firms. Prior to joining United Capital, she served as a Director at Bainbridge Capital where she primarily worked with private equity groups and public companies to identify and execute acquisition strategies. Ms. Rees also served as a Vice President at RSM EquiCo where she managed the pre-marketing due diligence and valuation of private middle-market companies considering a sale or recapitalization. She began her M&A career as a sell-side associate in Citigroup’s middle-market investment banking unit, performing business, financial and valuation analyses on numerous private companies. Prior to embarking on an investment banking career, Ms. Rees gained valuable experience working for accounting and law firms, where she performed litigation consulting services and provided both corporate law and litigation support.
Ms. Rees attended the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business in Chicago, Illinois, where she received a Master of Business Administration in finance in 1999 and was a John E. Jeuck Scholarship recipient. She also graduated summa cum laude from Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a dual focus in finance and economics.
Jason T. Lahita
Marketing Manager
Jason Lahita is responsible for national and regional marketing at United Capital. He manages press releases and media relations and is responsible for the content and functionality of the website. He also oversees the design and production of all marketing materials, including stationery, brochures and collateral deliverables.
Jason has worked for United Capital’s CEO, Joe Duran for over 4 years and was the first employee of the firm. Prior to serving as the Marketing Manager he was the Operations Manager for the Newport Office. Before joining United Capital, Jason served in the US Navy as a Petty Officer 3rd Class, specializing in the repair and maintenance of avionics gear for Carrier Air Wing 17 aircraft, primarily the F/A-18 Hornet.
Following his honorable discharge from the Navy in 2000, Jason completed his BA in History from New York University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. He is currently enrolled in the University of California Irvine, Paul Merage School of Business and will graduate with an MBA in 2009.