FRANCIS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Principal Senior Vice President Investment Consulting Services
- Senior Vice President Investment Consulting Services Principal
Cliff helps clients achieve their goals by providing expert and transparent counsel. With over 30 years of industry experience, he is able to provide extensive insight on retirement plan governance, capital markets, selecting and monitoring investment alternatives, plan design and cost, and the marriage of these with participant outcomes. He works closely with clients to develop programs designed to help employees achieve their goals. He sits on the firm's investment committee and contributes to the firm's proprietary research. He also spearheads the firm's expansion of the Francis brand on a national scale.
Job Titles:
- Co - Leader of Francis' Minnesota
- Vice President Investment Consulting Regional Director
Dave is the co-leader of Francis' Minnesota division. He has over 18 years of retirement plan consulting experience, with a special focus on working with plan sponsors to limit fiduciary liability and promote financial wellness initiatives that help foster healthy decision-making. He is a member of a number of local and national associations and currently involved in his community by serving on multiple municipality boards.
Job Titles:
- Vice President Investment Consulting Services Chief Investment Officer Principal
My family and I took a road trip through Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Washington, D.C., with our travels ending in Cape Cod. We visited significant landmarks, including the Civil War Antietam Battleground, where our distant relatives fought in the Civil War, the Capitol building and the Supreme Court. It was an eye-opening experience to consider what it was like for our relatives to leave things for future generations and made us appreciative of the sacrifices made. To end our trip, we stayed near family on the Cape, and spent quality time relaxing and restoring before the drive home. This trip inspired us to consider international locations next time - possibly without our children.
Job Titles:
- Principal Chief Investment Officer Vice President Investment Consulting Services
Eric has been in the industry for five years and currently serves as a member of the financial wellness team. His efforts help coordinate and deliver expert one-on-one financial wellness and advisory services to client participants.
Job Titles:
- Investment Consulting Coordinator
Gabrielle takes charge in compiling annual fiduciary review documents. She continuously coordinates with clients to retrieve and communicate data and resources. She looks to locate and utilize processes that support sustained advancement in the following years annual reporting procedure. She also has current interest in following the path of an investment manager, along with research on various macro-economic trends.
Jamie serves as a Financial Planner on Francis' financial wellness team and is responsible for providing education and individual planning services. He has worked in the financial industry creating financial plans and delivering advice for almost ten years prior to joining Francis. During his time in the industry, he has achieved the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) designation and specializes in taxes. Outside of work, Jamie enjoys music, reading, math, sports, and chess.
Jay has extensive experience in financial services, having worked in the industry since 1998. He focuses on empowering participants with the tools to successfully manage their holistic financial picture by educating them on the importance of budgeting, saving, investing and managing debt.
Job Titles:
- Vice President Investment Consulting Services
Jon provides guidance to plan sponsors in all things retirement planning, including investment performance monitoring, asset allocation optimization, investment manager searches and overall plan benchmarking. He boasts an impressive background in investment manager research, actively covering more than 50 unique investment strategies for the firm. Jon currently serves on the firm's investment committee, providing insights on global capital markets. Jon is a member of the Marquette University Applied Investment Management (AIM) Program.
Job Titles:
- Principal Vice President Investment Consulting Services
- Vice President Investment Consulting Services Principal
My wife and I spent 31 days traveling kid-free through Austria and Italy. It gave us the opportunity to connect with old family friends that we have not seen in over 25 years, which was such an amazing testament to how friendship can last over time and distance. It was a list of firsts for me: first time traveling abroad, first time staying in an Airbnb, first time on a robust public transportation system and first time spending time on vacation with my wife without the children around. Austria was incredible. We visited the mountaintop featured in "The Sound of Music," my wife's favorite movie. The trip was so incredible that it got us thinking about destinations for our next sabbatical trip, possibly Switzerland or even back to Austria.
Joe is one of the founding members of the group that originally formed Francis in 2004. He currently leads the firm's marketing and business development efforts and is continually looking for ways to create value for organizations and their employees. Before his time at Francis, he served as chief financial officer of a Wisconsin printing operation, allowing him to bring a valuable perspective to his plan sponsors and prospective development efforts. Joe is a member of both the Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Metro Milwaukee Society for Human Resource Management and serves on the board of directors of Wisconsin Retirement Plan Professionals.
Education: B.A. Interdisciplinary Studies, Wheaton College; M.A. Higher Education, Student Development, Wheaton College
Kasey creates and distributes content that effectively communicates Francis' mission of providing conflict-free financial advice, resources and education. Through marketing campaigns and communications strategies, she promotes a cohesive brand image and voice across all of Francis' platforms. Coming into her position with a background in higher education, Kasey has a wide breadth of event marketing, program planning and group facilitation experience.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder Principal Senior Vice President Financial Wellness Services
- Senior Vice President Participant Services Co - Founder
My husband and I spent three weeks in Israel and two weeks in Traverse City, Michigan. Those five weeks gave me ample time to genuinely rest and recharge. Not needing to reply to emails on my phone was remarkably freeing. In Israel, we had the opportunity to go sailing on the Sea of Galilee and walk through Hezekiah's tunnel. We learned so much about the history of major world religions and got to see so many well-known historical sites. In a national park in Israel, I had the wonderful luck of slipping on a rock and breaking my thumb. However, the time away from work helped me realize how much I loved what I do, since I was genuinely looking forward to my return to work. I am eligible in 2024 for my next sabbatical trip, and although I have no formal ideas yet, I really like the prospect of another international location.
With over 30 years of advising plan participants under her belt, Kelli has extensive financial wellness knowledge and oversees the firm's financial wellness team. She is responsible for curriculum design and delivery, as well as the firm's money coaching services. Under her leadership, the financial wellness team has won 15 Eddy Awards for excellence in retirement plan participant education programs.
Although my original sabbatical trip to Scotland was canceled due to the pandemic, my family and I still had an exciting four weeks. We spent four days as a family in Traverse City, Michigan, where we explored the Sleeping Bear Dunes, and I was able to gain some insight into how to pack a lot of travel items in a car with two children. My wife and I had three great days of alone time in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. We got to tackle the mountains and take over 2,100 photos of our trek. My wife is a photographer, so I was able to learn more about cameras and the process of photography. I even braved a solo night in the wilderness. I spent the rest of my vacation with my kids, witnessing milestones that I usually cannot be present for. I am eligible for my next trip in 2025, and although I have not started planning for the next, I am thinking Scotland might be a strong option.
Kevin heads the research team responsible for assessing capital market conditions and investment offerings. His team conducts due diligence on investment managers, evaluates opportunities in capital markets and analyzes economic trends. He also leads the team to produce investment manager recommendations and portfolio construction decisions.
Job Titles:
- Vice President Retirement Plan Consulting Regional Director
Kevin co-leads Francis' Minnesota division in the Twin Cities and brings over 25 years of retirement plan recordkeeping and consulting experience to his role. Prior to his time at Francis, Kevin was a partner and senior consultant for a large international consulting, actuarial and employee benefits firm.
Job Titles:
- Financial Planner Manager of DEI and Spanish Language Services
Liz uses her extensive experience as a bilingual educator to help advise plan participants through the often-confusing world of personal finance. She has taught in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Turkey, Ghana and the United States.
Macy serves as a research analyst on Francis' investment consulting team. Her responsibilities include but are not limited to capital market research, client reporting support and investment manager due diligence.
Job Titles:
- Financial Planner Fintech Product Manager
Matthew wears many hats, working as a financial planner, education project manager and Fintech product manager on the firm's financial wellness team. On this team, Matthew develops, delivers and evaluates both the digital and in-person learning programs. He is heavily involved with the origination and ongoing development of the firm's financial wellness app services, management of Francis' advisory software relationships and employee Fintech training programs. His hard work has helped the team earn numerous awards for both innovation and excellence.
Job Titles:
- President Co - Founder Principal
Mike has been advising qualified retirement plan clients since 1988. He has been a featured columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as the 401(k) Advisor since 1995, as well as a frequent public speaker on retirement plan governance and investment issues. Mike was recognized as one of the top 25 retirement plan advisors in the country by PLANSPONSOR Magazine in 2006 and guided the firm to be named Retirement Plan Advisor (large-team) of the Year in 2018.
Prior to his time at Francis, Pedro worked as a business analyst for a health insurance company. He joined the team as a financial planner after realizing his true passion for personal finance. In addition to a drive for helping others, Pedro is bilingual and helps clients and participants navigate their money goals.
Peter works as a financial planner providing education and individual advisory services. Prior to his time at Francis, he worked in logistics for a national industrial organization.
Job Titles:
- Financial Wellness Services Coordinator
Sally serves as the financial wellness services coordinator for Francis' team of financial planners. She is responsible for coordinating financial planning services, which includes the design and preparation of client campaigns and ongoing educational materials. She also serves as the primary point of contact for clients and plan participants.
Job Titles:
- Director of Operations
- Principal
Sue oversees Francis' finance and human resource operations, which typically involves monitoring the daily activities of the firm. She has been in the financial services industry for 40 years, with significant time spent as a branch operations manager for a national brokerage firm. She serves as a liaison between the firm and its service partners, including third-party administrators.
My family and I had a hybrid trip between time spent on the road and at home. This was the first vacation in a long time that was not work related, which felt incredible. We started in Heron Island, Washington, at a bed-and-breakfast owned by one of my relatives. We took our time driving down the Pacific Coast Highway, looking at the beautiful vistas and stopping to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. We spent time with my parents in Ripon, California, learning about bioluminescence, watching the porpoises in the sound and going gooey duck hunting. Upon our return to Wisconsin, I was able to organize my personal library and experience work that did not feel like work. For my next sabbatical trip in 2023, I've been flirting with the ideas of taking my wife and kids to either Alaska or Israel.
Tim has been helping people from all walks of life reach their retirement goals by providing engaging group education and personalized individual advice since 2006. He spent his time prior to Francis serving as an aircraft mechanic and flight instructor. His shoe in the door to the business world was working as an operations analyst at a national bank.