HIGHLAND - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Vice President, Signature Life
Bruce A. Pusateri serves as a Vice President for Highland Capital Brokerage, covering the Chicago territory. Bruce has 25 years of experience in the insurance and financial services industries partnering with financial professionals and providing exceptional client service. His magnetic personality and unique point-of-sale ability allows him to build strong relationships with clients and advisors as a go-to educational resource. His consultative approach listens to the client and prioritizes their immediate and long-term financial planning needs.
Prior to joining Highland, Bruce was a Financial Services Specialist with Allstate Financial. In this role, he worked closely with financial professionals to help them meet their insurance and financial services goals. Bruce became a top producer with Allstate Financial, managing eight agencies. Prior to that, Bruce spent 14 years with Northwestern Mutual Life as a Financial Representative and an additional three years with Guardian in the same role.
Bruce is a former Million Dollar Round Table producer and is highly respected by his peers. He holds a Series 6 (Investment Company Products/Variable Contracts Limited Representative) and a Series 63 (Uniform Securities Agent State Law) license.
Bruce and his wife Tatyana live in Naperville, Illinois. Together, they have a blended family of seven children and three grandchildren. Bruce and Tatyana love spending time with their family and friends when they aren't at their property in northwestern Illinois. Bruce is deeply committed to his faith and active in his church community. He's also an avid outdoors enthusiast.
Bruce Bibb serves as Senior Advisor Consultant for Highland Capital Brokerage. He started in the financial services industry in 2010 and specializes in annuity sales. Considered an industry leader, Bibb collaborates with some of the top financial advisorsin the country, assisting them in incorporating annuities and other advanced planning tools into their practice.
Bibb got married in 2022, and he and his wife welcomed their son, Kai Xander, into the world. Their family enjoys the outdoors and spends most of their time on the river or at the beach. Bibb is an avid golfer and won the Waste Management Open Pro-Am in 2021. He is also a bonsai tree collector and just built a 2,000 sq. ft. greenhouse in his backyard.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Executive Finance Partner
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor Consultant, Osaic Life
Chris Collins serves as a Senior Advisor Consultant of Osaic Life for Highland Capital Brokerage. He has over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. Collins specializes in leveraging the tax advantages of life insurance in estate and retirement planning, business continuation, and wealth transfer strategies. Long-term care planning has become an increasingly integral focus of his work with advisors. He partners with financial professionals to understand their clients' insurance needs and provide comprehensive strategies to help them reach their financial goals.
Before joining Highland, Collins served as Vice President of Sales for National Brokerage. In this position, he focused on advanced life insurance case design and strategic growth initiatives for key accounts.
Collins worked closely with independent insurance professionals, P&C firms, employee benefits firms, trust companies, CPA firms, wealth managers, and banks to deliver life insurance strategies for their target markets.
In a previous role as the Life Brokerage Manager at The Milner Group, Collins managed a team of brokerage professionals, overseeing internal wholesalers, case managers, underwriters, and licensing and commissions specialists. His collaboration with top producers involved developing marketing, case design, and underwriting strategies to ensure optimal products and pricing for their clients.
Collins earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in finance and marketing from the University of Kentucky, where he was also a four-year letterman on the swim team. Collins enjoys cheering for the Wildcats, playing golf, exercising, and woodworking. He and his wife, Casey, reside in Suwanee, Ga., with their three daughters.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Member and past President of the Columbus Chapter of the National Association of Insurance
- Vice President, Signature Life
Christopher Campbell serves as Vice President for Highland Capital Brokerage in Ohio where he is a Capital Club member and Signature VP. In this capacity, Campbell identifies and develops key professional relationships in wealth transfer, estate planning, long-term care strategies, executive benefits, and business strategies. Campbell guides insurance professionals and clients to develop solutions to enhance their estate and retirement plans.
Campbell is a member and past president of the Columbus chapter of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. In addition, he is a member of the Financial Planning Association®, the Society of Financial Services Professionals®, and serves as an occasional visiting guest lecturer at The Ohio State University and Ohio University.
Campbell holds a B.A. in business administration from The Ohio State University and is a Chartered Life Underwriter® and Chartered Financial Consultant® from the American College. Campbell is a member of the alumni chapter of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity Beta Phi Chapter at Ohio State.
He has also been active in the community as a former governing board member of his church, as well as various cultural, civic, and charitable organizations. Campbell and his wife Kathy reside in Worthington, Ohio. They have three children and one grandchild.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Vice President & Branch Manager, Signature Life
Christopher Macleod Payer serves as Vice President for Highland Capital Brokerage and the Branch Manager of Highland's Boston Regional office. Payer started in the financial services industry in 1996 and for over 27 years has helped advisors protect the income, assets, and legacies of individuals, business owners, and multi-generational families. Payer's planning integrates institutional, tax-alpha strategies into wealth planning to more efficiently accumulate, distribute, gather, leverage, protect, transfer, and preserve wealth.
Before joining Highland in 2003, Payer served as a wealth advisor at a privately held investment firm for seven years managing assets and providing advanced, tax-related planning to high-net-worth families and business owners. He began his career as an accumulation-focused financial advisor before turning toward protection planning following a tragic, family accident. Over the past 27 years, he has teamed with more than 500 elite wealth planners across 14 national financial and banking institutions. In addition, he has facilitated more than 20,000 planning engagements with more than 5,000 client implementations and more than $6 billion of in-force coverage.
Payer holds the Series 6, 63, CLTC, and Life and Health license designations.
Payer attended Skidmore College for business administration, and then Cornell University for graduate studies in landscape architecture. He follows in the footsteps of his father who was a wealth manager for 30 years before his untimely accident. Payer lives in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., with his wife and family, and enjoys composing/performing music, skiing, and the great outdoors. He is a contributing author to the book "Splendid Legacy: The Guide to Creating Your Family Foundation," published by the National Center for Family Philanthropy.
Payer's work is his calling, and he gains great satisfaction in helping advisors deepen their client relationships while protecting and empowering families. He is grateful for the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in clients' lives where insurance planning is used, not just to protect against what can go wrong, but to also create more generational certainty, possibility, and abundance.
Corey Gelinas serves as a Senior Advisor Consultant for Highland Capital Brokerage. Gelinas' focus is to mentor advisors, help clients, and lead sales organizations to success in the retirement planning space.
Gelinas began his career in the insurance industry in 2003, leading a national health insurance brokerage firm where he produced over $3 million in annual volume and earned President's Club recognition. In 2004, he was promoted to a management position and took on responsibilities for recruiting, training, and motivating the sales team in N.H. and southern Maine. During his tenure, he exceeded $40 million in career sales volume.
Before Highland, Gelinas worked as the Vice President of Annuity Sales at a small marketing firm, where he supported advisors' growth through comprehensive marketing and operations services, in addition to providing full carrier access.
Gelinas earned his bachelor's degree in engineering management with a minor in business administration from the University of Vermont in 2002. He holds life and health licenses in N.H., Mass., and Maine.
Gelinas and his daughter, Madison, live in N.H., where he enjoys attending Maddie's gymnastics events and spending time with family. Additionally, he has a passion for playing and watching sports and is a devoted fan of Boston sports teams.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Executive Vice President
Ella McMeans serves as Advisor Consultant for Highland Capital Brokerage. McMeans is new to the financial services industry.
Prior to joining Highland, McMeans worked in marketing and advertising, both in-house and on the agency side. She graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2022.
McMeans moved to San Diego from Minnesota in November 2023. She has a Golden Retriever named Teddy. In her free time, you can find her traveling, surfing, and doing anything outside in the sunshine.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Signature Life
Garrett Wheeler serves as Vice President, Signature Life for Highland Capital Brokerage. He previously served as the District Sales Manager for Mutual of Omaha Advisors in Hawaii, and he has been in the insurance and financial services industry since 2001.
Wheeler comes from an entrepreneurial family. For nearly a decade, he was the President/COO of Successories of Hawaii, his family-owned business that sold motivational products and provided seminars for audiences in business, the military, and education. That real-world, small-business experience continues to help him serve business owners with advanced-planning solutions.
Wheeler holds FINRA licensing Series 7: General Securities Representative, Series 65: Uniform Investment Adviser, and Series 63: Uniform Securities Agent State Law, and has also passed the Life and Health state exams.
Wheeler embodies Hawaii's aloha spirit - that spark within us of caring, kindness, and acceptance. (On a related note, his mother, Dr. Linda Andrade Wheeler authored a book entitled, Aloha the Spirit Within You). Born and raised on Maui, Wheeler learned early on how to connect with diverse people with unique personalities and backgrounds. It served him well when he attended college on the mainland. A knee injury on the field ended Wheeler's college baseball career as a catcher (his favorite memory playing ball was years earlier when his Maui team made it to the Pony League World Series in Davenport, Iowa). He went on to earn his bachelor's degree from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). And one summer while attending UCLA, he worked at Disneyland.
On some weekends, when Wheeler is not serving clients, he can be found navigating the offshore Hawaiian waters in his twin-engine powered cat - the Manu-o-Kū. Whether trolling for ahi, or deep dropping for the prized onaga, Wheeler appreciates the parallels between financial planning and deep-sea fishing. He says, "It starts with a plan, and effectively using fishing techniques and strategies to make it happen."
Wheeler's sense of civic responsibility, community service, and volunteerism are apparent in his long-standing elected position as a member of the Yacht Harbor Tower Board of Directors.
Finally, ohana (family) means everything to Wheeler. Their immediate family of 11 comes together on Sundays at his parents' place (often, for fresh caught fish). He and his beautiful wife, Michelle, love to travel and enjoy trying unique cuisine from around the world.
Greg Zahn, MBA, serves as Head of Firm Engagement for Highland Capital Brokerage. He develops, markets, and manages Highland's Digital Platform and other industry leading field technologies to enable and enhance the experience of advisors, their customers, and Highland's support staff throughout the overall purchase journey of insurance and annuities. Greg also assists Highland's management teams by bringing them the voice of our advisors and the overall advisor experience to aid in building a world-class service organization.
Prior to joining Highland, Greg served as Senior Vice President at NB Signature Insurance Solutions, as well as National Brokerage in Tampa. In both of those roles, he provided oversight and sales team management, as well as marketing and strategic initiative support. Greg also served as the Regional Sales Manager at National Brokerage. In this role, he worked closely with key accounts including, P&C/Benefits agencies, super-regional institutions, credit unions, wealth management firms, and independent producers on strategic growth and marketing initiatives. He recruited new business from independent life insurance producers nationwide, which included directing the entire sales process from compensation and underwriting negotiations to marketing collateral creation and policy quotes. Greg also worked closely with carriers to coordinate collateral, and provided training and point-of-sale assistance.
Greg received his Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Florida State University-Tallahassee and a Masters of Business Administration specializing in marketing, management, and finance from the University of South Florida. Greg, his wife Lisa, and their daughter Dalton live in Tampa. They enjoy the many outdoor activities the Florida lifestyle has to offer.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Vice President, Signature Life
Harrison Jacobs serves as a Vice President for Highland Capital Brokerage. He specializes in providing objective life insurance financial planning strategies and solutions. Harrison works closely with independent financial professionals and those at nationally recognized institutions adding value to their client relationships.
Harrison has over 14 years of experience in the insurance and financial services industry. Having experience in both personal production and brokerage sales, he understands the daily challenges faced by financial professionals. Harrison's hands-on approach provides exceptional service and product insight, allowing financial professionals to spend more time in-front of their clients.
Harrison holds a Series 6 (Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Representative) and Series 63 (Uniform Securities Agent State Law) securities license as well as a Life and Health insurance license. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University. He enjoys golf, soccer, music, and spending time with family and friends in Rock Hall, Maryland.
Harrison, his wife Erika, with their three children, reside in Villanova, Pennsylvania.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Signature Life
James M. Lauzon, CLU® serves as Vice President for Highland Capital Brokerage. Jim has been a leading professional in the financial services industry for nearly 30 years. He specializes in managing, recruiting and developing top producers and helping them to expand their skill and knowledge to increase their life, annuity, disability, and long-term care production.
Prior to joining Highland Capital Brokerage, he was the owner and president of AFRM LLC, where he initiated quality, professional, LADL production as an outsourced partner for property casualty firms, CPA firms, family offices and venture capital groups to increase their profit margins by expanding cross-sale opportunities. Before that, he was Director of Financial Services at Smith Brothers Insurance Company. He became a Highland HighCap member while at Smith Brothers and continued in this capacity at AFRM.
He began his financial service career with NY Life in New England, building teams of representatives and managing offices.
Jim earned a Bachelor of Science from Bridgewater State College in Bridgewater, MA. He holds the FINRA Series 7 (General Securities Representative) and Series 24 (General Securities Principal) licenses, and Series 66 (NASAA Uniform Combined State Law) designation.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Consultant
- Artist and Writer
Jason Salas serves as an Advisor Consultant for Highland Capital Brokerage. Salas started in the financial services industry in 2018. He specializes in life insurance.
Prior to joining Highland, Salas worked in property management and newspaper media.
Salas holds his Health and Life Insurance, Series 6, and Series 63 licenses.
Salas is a lifelong artist and writer. He has published seven books and continues to produce fun and interesting creations. He also enjoys running, walking, reading, and public speaking. He resides in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife Jessica and son Sebastian.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor Consultant, Osaic Life
Jeff Edwards serves as a Senior Advisor Consultant of Osaic Life for Highland Capital Brokerage. He began his career in the life insurance industry as an independent financial advisor and brings more than 20 years of experience, with a strong focus on client needs assessment, product knowledge, and case design.
Prior to joining Highland, Edwards was the Senior Sales Manager for the Insurance Planning Center at TIAA Life Insurance Company, overseeing a national team of life insurance and annuity sales specialists serving TIAA's institutional retirement plan participants. Before TIAA, Edwards was a financial advisor at Lincoln Financial Advisors, specializing in investment and retirement planning for university faculty.
Edwards is a graduate of John Carroll University and resides in Clover, SC, with his wife, Julie. In his free time, he enjoys working on his golf handicap or relaxing on the lake.
Jennifer O'Neil serves as a Senior Advisor Consultant for Highland Capital Brokerage. She has worked in the insurance industry since 2000, primarily focused on Life Insurance, Disability Insurance, and Long-Term Care Solutions. She has a passion for developing long-lasting relationships with all of her clients, and she is committed to offering insurance solutions as an integral part of their overall financial plan.
O'Neil has her Life, Accident, and Health licenses, as well as her Series 6, Series 63, and Property and Casualty licenses. She enjoys spending time with her family, especially hiking, skiing, and horseback riding with her two teenage sons.
Job Titles:
- SVP, Head of Business Development & Relationship Management
Job Titles:
- Director, Risk Management Consulting Team
In his current role as Director, Risk Management Consulting Team for Highland Capital Brokerage, Jim directs a team of professionals that help to support the advanced cases and product needs of financial service professionals throughout the country.
Born and raised in North Dakota, Jim has been active in the financial services industry since 1981. During his career, he has worn a variety of hats beginning as an agent and later as a General Agent for Mass Mutual. In 1986, he joined the home office of Western States Life as Director of Business Development and later became the Director of Training and Advanced Markets.
Jim has been a speaker and CE instructor at hundreds of events throughout his career. He is an active member of NAIFA and the Red River Valley Estate Planning Council. He is a past president of the Red River Valley chapter of CLUs and ChFCs. He served on the NAIC model illustrations task force and was a member of LIMRA's advanced markets group.
Jim is an active member in his community. He is the past president and a current member of the Fargo School Board. He is the past president and a current board member of the North Dakota School Boards Association. In addition, he served on the board of directors for Pine to Prairie Girl Scout Council, Coalition for Disabled Persons of North Dakota, Northern Lights Boy Scout Council, and the distribution committee of United Way of Cass-Clay.
Jim and his wife Kay are blessed with two delightful daughters, Robin and Emma.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor Consultant, Osaic Life
Kim Butler serves as a Senior Advisor Consultant of Osaic Life for Highland Capital Brokerage. She has over 18 years of experience working with advisors, identifying life insurance opportunities within existing books of business and guiding them on integrating these opportunities into their overall planning strategy with clients.
Before joining Highland, Butler served as a Senior Internal Sales Consultant with LPL Financial. In this role, she established and built trusted relationships with advisors, educating them on the benefits of life insurance solutions. Additionally, she provided case design support, performed policy reviews, and was the key liaison for one of LPL's largest Office Supervisory Jurisdictions (OSJ).
Beyond her professional commitments, she and her husband find true joy spending time with their four-year-old grandson and five-month old granddaughter. They also love the companionship of their two Welsh Springer Spaniels, Lucy and Opie.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Vice President, Signature Life
Kirk S. Hill serves as Vice President for Highland Capital Brokerage. His near 40 years of industry experience enables him to assist independent and institutional advisors in growing their business with high net-worth clients. He customizes solutions using life, disability, long-term care, and annuity products.
Kirk has served a multi-family office and trust company through the development of new clients and centers of influence. He also had increased production of a disability brokerage office some five-fold over 10 years. He has extensive experience in estate administration and life insurance trusts and has facilitated a course involving practical money matters for his church where he has served as an elected trustee. Kirk has also presided over the Indianapolis Estate Planning Council.
A graduate of the University of Connecticut, Kirk has earned the CLU® and ChFC® designations from the American College of Bryn Mawr, PA, as well as the following FINRA licenses: Series 6: FINRA Investment Company Products and Variable Contracts Limited Representative; and Series 63: NASAA Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination. He is past President of the Indianapolis chapter of the Society of Financial Services Professionals. Married nearly 40 years, he and his wife, Gae, have three adult children and one grandchild.
Job Titles:
- Chartered Life Underwriter
- Vice President of Signature Life
Lisa Hehir serves as a Vice President of Signature Life for Highland Capital Brokerage, where she is responsible for providing sophisticated point-of-sale support to financial advisors and their clients. With over 30 years of experience in the industry, Hehir specializes in customized, high-end estate, business, and retirement planning. Committed to helping financial advisors achieve greater success, she partners with them to assist their clients in building, preserving, and distributing their wealth. Hehir is an award-winning financial services veteran and a knowledgeable, respected industry leader.
An accomplished speaker, Hehir is frequently invited to be a guest presenter at industry conferences and workshops, including serving as a guest lecturer at the prestigious New York University.
Prior to joining Highland, Hehir was a point-of-sale specialist with several firms, providing strategies for high-net-worth families. Additionally, she held roles as Sales Vice President at Capitas Financial, Regional Life Specialist at Lincoln Financial Distributors, and Account Executive at Hartford Life. She earned prestigious memberships in the Million Dollar Round Table, National Council, and National Leaders Corps.
Hehir is a Chartered Life Underwriter®, Chartered Financial Consultant®, and Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® with the American College. She is an active member of the Northern New Jersey Estate Planning Council. In the past, she was a charter member of the Women Life Underwriter‘s Council and President of the New Jersey WLUC. Hehir attended Fairleigh Dickinson University with a concentration in Finance. When Hehir is not focused on business and family activities, she enjoys playing tennis and traveling.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor Consultant, Osaic Life
Lori Capozza serves as a Senior Advisor Consultant of Osaic Life for Highland Capital Brokerage. With more than 25 years in the financial services industry, Capozza has built a reputation as a go-to insurance expert and collaborative partner with financial advisors, CPAs, and attorneys. Capozza's extensive national network and wealth of expertise in the areas of life, long-term care, and disability helps enable financial advisors to best serve their clients with their most critical and long-term financial needs.
Prior to joining Highland, Capozza served as founding managing partner of an insurance strategies firm. She also served as a
Regional Vice President for John Hancock Life Insurance Company where she was recognized with the John Hancock President's Club Award for stellar production, teamwork, and being a positive role model in doing the right things for clients and the company.
Capozza holds a BA in Economics with a minor in Italian and is licensed in NASD Series 7 and Series 63. She is also licensed in North Carolina for life, health, and accident insurance, and holds non-resident licenses in multiple states across the country. She is a member of FINSECA and the Society of Financial Services Professionals (SFSP). In addition, she was nominated and featured in 2022 KNOW Charlotte as one of the top businesswomen in Charlotte.
Capozza resides in Weddington, N.C., with her husband Tony, and twin daughters, Cassidy and Addison. Most of her weekends are spent enjoying time with family activities, including soccer, dance, basketball, and swimming events.
Manny Ramirez serves as a Vice President for Highland Capital Brokerage.
Ramirez is a veteran of more than 20 years of financial services in sales and marketing. He started his career as an internal wholesaler for LTC, life, and annuity products at MetLife. He then transitioned into account management during his tenure at MetLife. Ramirez began his career as an RVP at LifeSecure Insurance.
His experience working with LTC, life, and annuities has given him an expansive view of protection and wealth planning for advisors and their clients. He is passionate about his work and our industry and prides himself on maintaining a work ethic founded on trust, integrity, and teamwork. This mentality has afforded Ramirez the ability to connect with a wide variety of people both within the industry and in the field.
Ramirez is a graduate of the University of Southern California with a bachelor's degree in economics with an emphasis in international business. He resides in Ladera Ranch, Calif., with his wife Michelle. When Ramirez isn't working, you'll find him grilling in his backyard.
Marty Dooley, Founding Principal of Highland Capital Brokerage, has spent more than 35 years in the insurance industry. He began his career in 1985 as a Sales Consultant with UNUM, where he won numerous sales awards and was selected as youngest candidate to ever enter UNUM's management training program. In 1989, Marty joined Great-West Life as a Senior Marketing Representative, and by 1991, was awarded the branch manager position of the Wisconsin field office in Milwaukee.
In connection with Great-West's exit from the individual products market in 1992, Marty formed Great Midwest Brokerage (GMB), where he served as President. He was also a founding member, board member, and shareholder in the Advantage Insurance Network (AIN) through its acquisition by Allmerica Investments in 1999.
In January 2002, Marty merged GMB with Highland Capital Brokerage and managed the firm's Milwaukee operation until resigning in 2017 to focus exclusively on sales. Since then, he is consistently a top 10 Sales Vice President for Highland.
Marty is a 1985 graduate of Marquette University and is currently a member of Society of Financial Service Professionals (FSP), Financial Planning Association® (FPA), and National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA). He previously held affiliations with Finseca™ (formerly the AALU), the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA), and GAMA Global, and served as a local board member for NAIFA. Marty has also been named to several advisory committees and boards of Highland's partner carriers, has written for numerous industry periodicals, and spoken at a variety of insurance-related functions.
Marty and his wife, Lynn, reside in Franklin, Wisconsin, have three children, Jenna, Megan, and Jackson. In addition to spending time with his family, Marty is a volunteer member of the St. Alphonsus School's Finance Committee, and Xavier University Parent/Family Advisory Board. He is also certified as a USA Softball and USA Basketball gold level coach.
Job Titles:
- Divisional Vice President of Signature Life
Matt Kroeger serves as Divisional Vice President of Signature Life for Highland Capital Brokerage. In this role, Kroeger provides leadership, guidance, and accountability to a team of highly skilled Signature Life Vice Presidents.
Kroeger began his career in 2003 with Insurance Designers of America in Scottsdale, Ariz. He has significant experience in the financial services and insurance distribution industry, including roles in New Business, Underwriting, Operations, Sales Support and Case Design, Account Management, and Sales Leadership.
Kroeger joined Highland in 2012 and held several positions before leaving to accept a role as a Key Account Manager for MassMutual Strategic Distributors. He returned to Highland in 2023.
Kroeger is Life and Health licensed in Arizona. He also holds his FINRA Series 6 (Investment Company Products/Variable Contracts Limited Representative) and Series 63 (Uniform Securities Agent State Law) licenses.
Kroeger lives in Phoenix, Ariz., with his wife, Kelly, and their children, Carson and Quinn. He enjoys cheering on the Arizona Cardinals and Phoenix Suns and stealing away to the nearest beach with his family whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Matt Puglisi serves as a Senior Advisor Consultant for Highland Capital Brokerage, and partners with financial advisors nationwide. With experience in the financial services industry since 2002, Puglisi specializes in helping financial advisors with net new client acquisition, brand marketing, financial planning, advanced markets, financial planning software, Social Security and Medicare planning, retirement income planning, spousal protection, and public speaking and seminars. Additionally, he has extensive annuity product expertise.
Puglisi has a true passion for problem-solving and has built a career out of helping individuals achieve financial confidence and certainty.
Prior to joining Highland, Puglisi held roles as a Financial Advisor and Annuity Regional Vice President.
Puglisi holds the following licenses: Series 6, Series 65, Series 63, Life and Health Insurance.
Puglisi resides with his wife, Jen, and three children in Poolesville, Md. When not helping financial advisors, you can find him spending time with his family, coaching youth football and baseball, helping with the Wounded Warrior Project, the Transverse Myelitis Foundation, playing sports and chess, and supporting his local community in various ways.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Signature Life
Matt follows a consultative, planning-based discipline which seeks to understand all elements of a client's financial profile. A key component to his process often includes collaboration with their legal and accounting team to balance all potential planning contingencies.
Prior to joining Highland, Matt was Regional Life Specialist for Lincoln Financial Distributors in Northern California. He served as a key partner to financial institutions, helping them integrate and develop insurance planning initiatives, and worked directly with advisors to address the unique needs for affluent families. Prior to that, Matt served as a Financial Advisor at both Merrill Lynch and Stone & Youngberg. These positions ignited his passion for helping people achieve financial wellness through comprehensive planning.
Matt studied International Economics and played varsity lacrosse at Randolph-Macon College in his home state of Virginia. He now lives in Mill Valley, California with his wife and their two daughters. It's not uncommon to find him breaking away from traffic on his evening commute to visit the beach, where he enjoys surfing a wave or two before calling it a day.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Signature Life
Melvin "Buddy" P. Glazier, Jr., serves as Vice President for Highland Capital Brokerage, serving Upstate NY, VT, NH and Maine. Buddy has 30 years of experience in insurance planning, working with advisors, agents, planning teams, CPAs, attorneys, and trust officers in all distribution channels. He reviews financial plans that advisors have created with an insurance lens to help them identify opportunities where their clients will benefit from the solutions he provides. He has expertise in counseling advisors and clients on the full range of insurance planning strategies and implementing these solutions. With his thorough life insurance knowledge and expertise, and his appreciation of the advisor-client relationship, Buddy will often meet with advisors and their clients.
He and his team provide concierge service for life, long-term care, disability income insurance and fixed annuity solutions. He has been recognized as a top performer in Highland Capital Brokerage's Capital Club.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor Consultant, Osaic Life
Michael Arner serves as a Senior Advisor Consultant of Osaic Life for Highland Capital Brokerage. With more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry, Arner specializes in Hybrid Long-Term Care (LTC) Planning.
Prior to joining Highland, Arner had a long history in financial planning as a relationship manager and retirement specialist at Principal Financial, Fidelity, and AIG Valic.
Arner lives in Waxhaw, N.C., with his wife, Wendy, and their two sons, Garrett and Grayer. In his free time, Arner enjoys outdoor sports activities, including baseball and golf, in addition to time at the South Carolina Coast. Most weekends are spent at the ball fields, cheering on his sons' travel baseball team during the summer and fall seasons.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Head of IT and Enterprise Data
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Marketing
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President, Head of Strategy, Business Transformation & Operations