WOODSTOCK CORPORATION - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- President
- Member of the CFA Society Boston
In addition to providing portfolio management and financial consulting services for individual clients, Adrian G. Davies is the firm's Chief Investment Officer and Chief Operations Officer. He also has analytical responsibilities for covering technology and business services stocks, and directs the firm's information technology strategy.
Adrian has been with Woodstock since 2003. He was previously a vice president of Mellon Growth Advisors, LLC, where he monitored and analyzed technology and telecommunications stocks for several institutional growth funds. He served on the firm's Oversight and Strategy Committee, where he helped establish investment strategies and sector allocations for the firm. His earlier experience includes having worked as a portfolio manager for Federated Investors in Pittsburgh, PA, and as an investment analyst for Shenyin Wanguo Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong.
Adrian is a member of the CFA Society Boston and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). He received his MBA from the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia, and a BA in Philosophy from the University of California at Berkeley. He was also awarded a one-year degree in Japanese studies from the International Division of Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan. He resides in Sudbury, MA. Prior to joining Woodstock in 2003, Adrian was a portfolio manager at Federated Investors in Pittsburgh, PA.
Ann M. Kane joined Woodstock in 1999 and works with several portfolio managers in maintaining and processing client accounts. As a result of her ongoing communication and involvement with the firm's clients, Ann has developed strong relationships with many of them. In addition to her portfolio administrator duties, she also serves as assistant to Woodstock Corporation's president.
Prior to Woodstock, Ann worked at Cambridge Trust Company. She received her BA from the University of New Hampshire and went on to graduate from the Cannon Trust School.
Benjamin G. Dawson returned to Woodstock Corporation in 2020, bringing with him more than 30 years of portfolio construction, investment, analytical and wealth management experience. At Woodstock, he serves as a portfolio manager and trustee for individuals and families in addition to having investment research responsibilities.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the Board of Directors
Christopher M. Leich has been a director of Woodstock Corporation since 2019. A retired partner of Ropes & Gray LLP, he was a long-time advisor to some of the largest private investment firms in the United States, and he brings to Woodstock extensive experience with all aspects of the asset management business, particularly tax and fund structure issues. He also serves as a director for Coal, Energy Investments and Management, LLC, the Managing General Partner of Big Sandy Company, LP. Chris served for many years as a director of the Gibson House Museum in Boston and the PAIR Project, a pro bono legal services organization, and he is currently the President of the Arlington Land Trust. Chris holds a JD from Harvard Law School, a Bachelor of Philosophy from Oxford University, and a BA from Swarthmore College.
David joined Woodstock in 2008 as an investment operations manager, leading a team responsible for monitoring all account activity, processing performance measurement, and overseeing trade settlement. After completing his MBA in 2018, he was promoted to portfolio manager in 2021. David also acts as a liaison between Woodstock and its vendors, including the custodian bank.
Prior to joining Woodstock, David worked for State Street Bank as a senior fund accountant and, more recently, Investors Bank & Trust as a unit manager in wealth management services. In total, he has 20+ years of financial services experience.
David graduated from Westfield State University in 2000, where he received a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. In 2018, he received his MBA from Babson College's F.W. Olin Gradual School of Business with dual concentrations in Finance and Business Analytics.
David Levesque is responsible for oversight of all non-investment-related activities as well as helping with SEC compliance at Woodstock Corporation. He is also President of Woodstock Services Company, LLC and serves as Senior Vice President, Finance and Treasurer for Coal, Energy Investments & Management, LLC, the managing general partner of Big Sandy Company, LP, with which he has been affiliated since 2017.
Dave joined Woodstock in 2004, bringing 16 years of financial experience. He held financial management positions for a variety of companies, including four years in public accounting. He served as manager of financial reporting and analysis for Thompson and Thompson, assistant controller for Firestone Corporation/ UST Leasing Corporation, and was senior accountant for Wolf Company, PC.
David is a CPA and a graduate of North Adams State College with a BS in Business Administration. He is a member of the Massachusetts Society of Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the Board of Directors
Edward A. Benjamin has been a director of Woodstock Corporation since 2003 and contributes to the overall direction and implementation of the firm's strategic vision. He is a retired partner of Ropes & Gray, LLC, and brings more than four decades of private wealth management experience to Woodstock, specifically in the financial and legal areas. Ed's in-depth knowledge of trusts and trust operations provides valuable guidance in Woodstock's business development and asset management decisions.
Ed also serves as a director for Coal, Energy Investments and Management, LLC. He has a JD from Harvard Law School and received his BA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Director of Coal
- Member of the Woodstock Corporation Board of Directors
Henry P. Phippen has been a member of the Woodstock Corporation Board of Directors since 1988. He also plays a significant role in several other private wealth management firms, including Agawam Trust & Management, LLC, of which he is a principal, and Woodstock Services Company, LLC, of which he is a manager. Both entities provide trustee, accounting and tax services to families and unrelated trusts, individuals, and business entities in coordination with Woodstock Corporation.
Hank also serves as a director of Coal, Energy Investments & Management, LLC, the managing general partner of Big Sandy Company, LP, and has been associated with the company since the late 1980s. He was also managing partner of Sagamore Partners, LLP, Agawam's predecessor firm, since its formation in 1993.
Hank graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1984 with a BS in Business Administration. He earned the certified financial planner (CFP) certification in 1990.
Job Titles:
- Tax Manager
- Vice President
- Member of the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants
Jeanne FitzGerald is the tax manager of Woodstock Services Company, LLC. She joined Woodstock in 2004 as a tax accountant and, prior to that, worked for William H. Darling, CPA. Jeanne provides a variety of personal trust and fiduciary services as well as tax services for our clients. She prepares and reviews income tax returns for individuals, fiduciaries, corporations, estates and trusts, and non-profit organizations. She responds to client tax inquiries and researches tax issues as needed. Jeanne also performs financial statement audits, reviews, and compilations for Woodstock clients.
Jeanne is a member of the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants, as well as the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She graduated from Holy Cross with a BA in Economics and received a Certificate of Accountancy from Bentley College.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Portfolio Manager and Trader at BNY Mellon
Lisa M. Supple joined Woodstock in 2017 and has more than 26 years of investment management experience, including 18 years of trading experience. She is a portfolio manager and trader at Woodstock with marketing and analytical responsibilities for the consumer staples sector.
In her previous position as a portfolio manager and trader at BNY Mellon, Lisa specialized in fixed income securities, investing and trading corporates, treasuries and agencies for high net worth individuals, family offices, endowments, foundations, and insurance accounts. As a senior relationship manager at Mellon Bank, she was a founding team member in establishing Mellon Bank's Boston Family Office.
Lisa received an MS in Administration from Boston University and a BA in Business from Saint Anselm College. She is also a graduate of the New England School of Banking Trust & Estate Planning Program at Williams College.
Maureen J. Murphy joined Woodstock in 2014, bringing more than 25 years of comprehensive experience in the investment industry, both as a client-focused portfolio manager and equity analyst. At Woodstock, she is a portfolio manager for the firm's individual and institutional clients, and has analytical responsibilities for covering the financial sector.
Maureen has extensive experience in providing customized investment management to affluent individuals, family groups and institutions. She previously held vice president and portfolio manager positions at several investment management firms, including Eaton Vance Management, Columbia Management Group (Fleet Investment Advisors) and INVESCO (formerly Gardner and Preston Moss).
Maureen holds an MBA degree with a concentration in Finance from the Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College, and a BA in Economics from the College of the Holy Cross. She holds a Series 65 (Investment Advisor) securities license with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA). Maureen is a member of the CFA Society Boston and the CFA Institute.
Job Titles:
- Vice Chairman
- Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors
Paul D. Simpson has been with Woodstock since 1993, and has more than 45 years of experience in the asset management and financial consulting field. Pete served as president of Woodstock from March 2003 until March 2013. He is also a partner of Agawam Trust & Management Company, LLC, which provides trustee services to members of the family which controls Woodstock, and is a manager of Woodstock Services Company, LLC, which provides accounting, tax and custody services to Woodstock clients.
Prior to joining Woodstock Corporation, he was vice president at Fleet Investment Advisors, Bank of New England and First National Bank of Boston. At all three, he served, during various periods, as an analyst responsible for the consumer, capital goods, financial and energy sectors.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President
- Member of the CFA Institute
Peter C. Hartzel joined Woodstock in 1998 and has more than 40 years of experience in financial analysis and investment management. His primary analytical responsibilities focus on the healthcare and specialty chemicals sectors. In addition to managing portfolios for individual clients and institutions, he also manages the firm's healthcare strategy initiative.
Prior to Woodstock, Peter was a senior equity analyst with such investment institutions as Arkwright Mutual Insurance Co., Colonial Management, Keystone Funds, and The Bank of New England. Also, he has experience in bank holding company regulation with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
Peter is a former president (and co-founder) of the Bank Analysts' Association of Boston, a member of the CFA Institute, and past director of the Bank and Financial Analysts Association (New York). He received an MBA from Babson College and a BA from Boston College.
Robert B. Sanders joined Woodstock Corporation in 2017 with more than 30 years of investment, analytical and financial management experience. At Woodstock, he serves as a portfolio manager for individuals and families in addition to having investment research responsibilities.
Prior to Woodstock, Bob was an owner, vice president and portfolio manager with Howland Capital Management LLC, where he analyzed the international sector, and consumer, financial, industrial, and technology companies. Bob previously served as a portfolio manager and analyst with Fidelity Investments, an analyst with Venture Economics, controller/acting CFO with Workgroup Technology, finance and accounting manager with MathSoft, Inc., and as an audit/tax professional with Bernard F. Ryan Co., CPAs.
Bob earned a BS from the University of New Hampshire and an MBA from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), and Certified Trust and Financial Advisor (CTFA) designations. He is a member of the CFA Society Boston, the CFA Institute, and the Boston Estate Planning Council. He serves as chair of the board for Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled, and on the board of trustees for the Carroll Center for the Blind.
Thomas C. Stakem, Jr. has more than forty years of investment management experience and joined Woodstock in 2003. His investment research responsibilities focus on the energy sector, and he directs the firm's energy strategy portfolio. In addition to serving as portfolio manager for individual clients, he is also the director of research and serves on the Investment Policy Committee.
Prior to Woodstock, Tom was director of equity research at Fleet Investment Advisors/Columbia Management Group, and a portfolio manager with Cunningham, Henderson & Papin, Boston Safe Deposit & Trust, and Congress Asset Management. He was a research analyst with David L. Babson & Co., the Boston Company, and John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company.
Tom is a twice-past president of the Petroleum Analysts of Boston. He holds a BBA in Finance and Accounting from Loyola Marymount University, and an MBA from Boston College. He has been a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) since 1975.
Thomas J. Lespasio has been a part of Woodstock and its related entities since 1970. Initially, he maintained the bookkeeping of various fiduciary trust accounts, performing administrative and accounting services and income tax preparation for clients. Soon after, he was elected assistant treasurer of Woodstock and assumed additional in-house responsibilities.
In 2002, Tom transitioned from Woodstock to its related entity, Sagamore Tax and Accounting Group, LLC. There he contributed to the growth and stability of clients through tax-related services.
Tom is now the tax accountant for Woodstock Services Company and provides support in all aspects of tax administration and preparation of all client tax returns.
Job Titles:
- Accountant
- Member of the American Institute of Public Accountants
Walter Zagieboylo joined Woodstock in 2003 with more than 19 years of tax and accounting experience behind him. In addition to tax work, his primary responsibility is managing the accounting, tax and audit issues for several client companies engaged in energy resource management. Walter previously worked as a CPA and consultant, creating and implementing high-priority tax and accounting solutions for a variety of large New England-based companies.
Walter is a member of the American Institute of Public Accountants and the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants. He received an MBA from the Monterey Institute in Monterey, CA, a Certificate in Accountancy from Bentley College in Waltham, MA, and a BA from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Woodstock Corporation Board of Directors
William H. Darling has been an active member of the Woodstock Corporation Board of Directors since 1992, was elected chairman in 2003, and president in 2013. He is also affiliated with several other private wealth management firms. He is a principal member of Agawam Trust & Management, LLC, which provides trustee, accounting and tax services to various family and unrelated trusts, individuals and business entities in coordination with Woodstock Corporation. He is also the chairman and CEO of Coal, Energy Investments & Management, LLC, the managing general partner of Big Sandy Company, LP, and has been associated with the company since 1984.
Bill retired as treasurer of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary as well as chairman of its Investment Committee in 2010, after 18 years. He currently serves on the board of directors and as the treasurer of College Bound Dorchester.
Bill holds a BA in Government from Harvard University and an MBA and MS in Accounting from Northeastern University. He also received his MS in Applied Psychology from the University of Aston in Birmingham, England.