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Tag: finance

Finance | Insurance 2023: FRANCISCO ‘FRANK’ CASTELLANOS

As Greater Washington market executive for Merrill, the wealth management arm of Bank of America, Francisco Castellanos leads the D.C. market’s nearly 150 financial advisers, overseeing some $31 billion in client assets. He was named to the position late last year, having previously been Merrill’s Greater Virginia market executive and for 18 months also serving as Hampton Roads market president for Bank of America.

A native of Cuba, the former Foreign Service officer is vice chair of Merrill’s Hispanic Latino Advisory Council. He holds a bachelor’s degree from George Mason University.

Merrill parent Bank of America boasts 217,000 employees worldwide, including about 4,100
in Virginia. The $95 billion company reported $25.2 billion in revenue for the second quarter of 2023, up from $22.7 billion last year. In the first quarter of 2023, the company reported a record in net new clients for its wealth and investment management business, with 14,500 net new relationships.

WHAT I’VE LEARNED: Challenge the status quo!

NEW LIFE EXPERIENCE: Paragliding

Finance | Insurance 2023: TRISTAN M. CAUDRON

While psychology and finance might seem like an odd mix, Caudron believes his background in behavioral finance helps him to better advise his clients by understanding the factors influencing investors. He began his career in 1995 at CMB, now a Wells Fargo Advisors firm. An accredited asset management specialist and a chartered retirement planning counselor, he is experienced in long-term investment strategies.

In 2023, Forbes recognized Caudron as one of the nation’s top 250 wealth advisers, ranking him at No. 156. He came in second on Forbes’ 2023 list of Best-In-State Wealth Advisors from Northern Virginia and has consistently been ranked in the top 10 of Barron’s list of the Top 1,200 Financial Advisors in the U.S.

A father of four who enjoys tennis, skiing, paddleboarding and cycling, Caudron earned his bachelor’s degree in economics and psychology and his MBA from Georgetown University.

CMB Wealth Management Group sponsors various charitable organizations and events, including the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, Senior Services of Alexandria and the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria.

Finance | Insurance 2023: VICTOR K. BRANCH

A self-described “continuous learner,” Branch found his passion for banking right out of college, steadily ascending to his current role, which he has held since 2015, overseeing about 2,000 employees at 25 locations, while remaining active in his community.

The William & Mary sociology graduate is chairman-elect of the Virginia Bankers Association board and vice chair of the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond’s board. He also serves on boards for Virginia State University, ChamberRVA, the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges and Venture Richmond. This year, he was named to Virginia Business’ Black Business Leaders Hall of Fame.

The $115 billion bank employs 217,000 people worldwide, including more than 4,000 in Virginia. Earlier this year, Bank of America reported first quarter profits of $26.3 billion.

PERSONAL MOTTO: To whom much is given, much is required.

ONE THING I’D CHANGE ABOUT VIRGINIA: I would change Virginia’s slow adaptation to change and move away from its steadfast commitment to traditions.

Finance | Insurance 2023: JEFF BENTLEY

Bentley runs the sixth largest credit union in Virginia, but over the course of his career, he’s learned that leaders can control only so much; sometimes you must “go with the ebb and flow of life.”

Northwest marked $4.1 billion in assets during fiscal year 2022, down slightly from 2021’s $4.35 billion. The credit union has earned Top Workplace awards for three consecutive years from The Washington Post, including a diversity, equity and inclusion award (the only credit union to win the award).

Bentley came to Northwest Federal from Florida’s Achieva Credit Union in 2014 to work as senior vice president of lending. Bentley has held leadership roles at several credit unions and banks and worked with the National Credit Union Administration to restore profitability to troubled credit unions. He holds a finance degree from Georgia Southern University. He serves as vice chair for the Virginia Credit Union League board and is a board member for the Committee for Dulles.

FAVORITE APP: I love The Wall Street Journal app because it’s the last truly unbiased news source on the planet.

SOMEWHERE I’D LIKE TO VISIT: Portugal

Finance | Insurance 2023: JEFF GRINSPOON

Grinspoon co-founded VWG Wealth Management with John Verfurth and Richard Weeks after leaving his position as senior vice president at Morgan Stanley in 2011.

A registered investment adviser, VWG partners with aggregator Hightower Advisors, which manages back-end functions such as regulatory compliance and technology. As of 2022, VWG had more than $2 billion in assets under management. Washington Business Journal has named the company one of the best places to work in greater Washington, D.C., for the last five years.

Grinspoon ranked 79th on Forbes’ 2023 list of the 250 top wealth advisers. In 2023, Barron’s listed Grinspoon as the No. 3 financial adviser in Virginia. In November 2022, Hightower honored Grinspoon with the Savvy Ladies’ Male Ally award, recognizing men in the finance sector who support their female colleagues.

Grinspoon began his financial adviser career at Legg Mason in 1998 before moving to Morgan Stanley in 2001. A University of Maryland alum with a bachelor’s degree and MBA, he enjoys golfing and spending time with his family.

Finance | Insurance 2023: CECILIA A. HODGES

Hodges was promoted to her current post in 2018, after serving as market president for Central and Southern Virginia and real estate banking group vice president. Based in Vienna, she manages teams in more than 60 branches in Virginia and the D.C. metro area.

A 35-year banking professional who was managing director of Provident Bank until 2009, Hodges is a champion for women working in finance and has served as a mentor for many women.

Her efforts to help others extend to the broader community as well. She serves on the boards of numerous organizations, including the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s Baltimore branch and the D.C. metro chapter of Easter Seals, where she has chaired the annual Bright Stars Night fundraising gala. She also is treasurer for the Greater Washington Board of Trade.

Hodges is a Virginia Tech graduate who participated in a yearlong leadership program at the University of Michigan in 2013. She is a native of Rocky Mount, where her parents ran Ideal Building Supply, a construction supplies store.

Finance | Insurance 2023: THOMAS RANSON

Growing up in Urbanna, Ransom worked with his hands, doing house-roofing jobs and prepping cars to be painted. He moved into the less physically taxing field of banking when BB&T recruited him out of Hampden-Sydney College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics.

He’s worked at the bank, which became Truist following its 2019 merger with SunTrust Banks, for 23 years. The Fortune 500 company is the sixth largest bank in the
U.S., with $574 billion in assets. Ransom has been president for the bank’s Virginia region since 2021, and he launched the Truist HBCU strategy to recruit and retain Black clients and employees.

Ransom received his MBA from the University of Baltimore and was a public policy fellow at Princeton University. He is active in community leadership, delivering Virginia State University’s fall 2022 commencement speech. Also last year, he was appointed to the Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates. He serves on the boards of RVA757 Connects, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia Bankers Association.

MOST RECENT BOOK READ: “The Work: My Search for a Life That Matters,” by Wes Moore

NEW LIFE EXPERIENCE: Traveled to Ireland for the first time.

Finance | Insurance 2023: SHANE McLAUGHLIN

McLaughlin has been at Wells Fargo for more than 12 years, including six as the bank’s region bank president for Northern Virginia.

A Virginia Tech graduate, McLaughlin joined Wachovia as a licensed financial specialist in 2004 and became a Wells Fargo employee when that bank acquired Wachovia in 2008. In 2011, McLaughlin was given leadership over retail operations in 37 stores in Washington, D.C., and Maryland, and now he oversees approximately 100 branch locations and more than 700 employees.

Ranked No. 47 on the Fortune 500, with $82.8 billion in revenue and $1.88 trillion in assets under management last year, Wells Fargo is the nation’s fourth largest bank.

IF I HAD A TIME MACHINE, I’D MEET: Babe Ruth, to hear stories and have a good time

HOW I UNWIND FROM WORK: Watching reruns of “The Office”

FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM: Washington Commanders

Finance | Insurance 2023: ELENA EDWARDS 

Edwards joined French travel insurance agency Allianz Partners in 2019 as general manager of the U.S. business unit. She was named CEO of Allianz Partners USA in June 2020 and took on the additional the role of regional CEO for North America in July 2021 before being appointed chief markets officer and a board member for the parent company in February 2022.

Allianz, which sells travel, health and life insurance, employed about 800 people in its Henrico headquarters as of last year.

An industry veteran, Edwards previously worked more than 30 years as an executive for General Electric and Genworth Financial. She served as senior vice president of Genworth’s long-term care insurance closed block business. She also worked as chief operating officer for the company’s U.S. life insurance division.

Edwards, who has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Union College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, is a STEM advocate who serves as board vice president for the Science Museum of Virginia Foundation.

Finance | Insurance 2023: FREDRICK D. SCHAUFELD

After graduating from Lehigh University in 1981, Schaufeld took a job selling extended warranties to auto dealers. When he learned his employer hadn’t actually taken out policies on all his clients, Schaufeld went into business for himself, working directly with the insurance company and dealers.

That adventure led to Schaufeld launching N.E.W. Customer Services Companies Inc., which issued warranties for consumer products and later merged with phone warranty company Asurion.

Schaufeld went on to co-found investment firm SWaN & Legend, which has purchased stakes in businesses like healthy snack maker Kind LLC and Custom Ink T-shirts. He’s a partner in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics.

A Lehigh University graduate, Schaufeld sits on the boards of the Inova Health Foundation and the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. He and and his wife, Karen, created the Fredrick D. and Karen G. Schaufeld Family Foundation, which has provided more than $40 million to Northern Virginia health systems, among other philanthropic efforts. In March, he received a Horatio Alger Award from the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans.