Meet The Team

Michael Silver, Founder and Senior Managing Partner

Michael has worked with financial organizations and with financial professionals (individually or in teams) as a leadership/performance coach, advisor and consultant for the past 18 years. The Focus Partners approach to practice development enables him to utilize his extensive experience in the financial services sector to leverage his proven skills in relationship management, client service and process improvement. Michael’s financial services experience includes both sales and management positions at several firms, including Prudential, Wachovia and Ryan Beck, where he learned first-hand the power of creative networking, referral programs and relationship management. Michael received a Bachelor of Science degree with distinction in Finance from Ithaca College and has his Certification in Organizational and Executive Coaching from New York University.

Eric Sheikowitz, Founder and Senior Managing Partner

Eric has over 17 years in sales and marketing. He began his career in banking at Republic National Bank, servicing high net worth individuals and commodities clients. Most recently, he was a manager for a Big Four professional services firm where he was responsible for leading a team in the development and execution of marketing and communication programs for technology initiatives. Eric holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Rhode Island, a Masters Degree from Long Island University and has received coach training from one of the leaders of the modern coaching movement.

David Leo, Strategic Partner/Senior Coach

 
David is a coach and consultant to financial advisors, planners and managers. He has decades of financial services industry experiences including over 7 years in PaineWebber’s Private Client Group where he focused his expertise on productivity solutions for financial advisors. He retired from IBM after a successful 30-year career that included positions in sales, marketing, management, and business process reengineering consulting serving the Financial Services Industry. He has been coaching Financial Advisors for almost 10 years.

David is a proven team leader with highly developed analytical, organizational, communications and strategy skills. As a business coach, strategist and planner he has extensive experience in financial services marketplace. Among his experiences, he is a creative business and process analyst and reengineering consultant bringing common sense, organizational skills, logical decision-making, and methodology experience for problem solving. As a productivity specialist he brings extensive knowledge of business and sales processes and the application of productivity enhancement processes and technologies to his clients.

In addition to coaching David facilitates meetings, trains advisors and managers, does strategy and planning, Financial Advisory Process Improvement, marketing and sales effectiveness, client loyalty, and improved time management consulting.

Mr. Leo holds an MBA in Management from New York University and a BS in Commerce and Engineering from Drexel University.

Joel Soren, Strategic Partner/Senior Coach

For over 15 years, Joel has been coaching sales and financial service professionals in developing competencies to drive business growth and revenues.  His background includes sales and branch management, product development and human resources.  As Director of Training of Development and Divisional Human Resources Director, Mr. Soren built and developed a highly productive sales force which was recognized as one of the premier retail teams on Wall Street.  During his tenure with Herbert J. Sims & Company, a boutique investment firm, he grew the retail sales force over 100% in two years, increasing revenue 60% in one year.  Joel has served as in-house consultant to numerous investment banks, conceiving and implementing growth strategies to drive revenue. He has also spearheaded the startup of numerous brokerage subsidiaries and branch offices and developed a reputation as a successful Wall Street turnaround specialist.  He received his M.B. A. in Finance and B.A. in Psychology from Long Island University. He subsequently joined the US Army and was honorably discharged as a 1st Lieutenant. Mr. Soren is currently a FINRA arbitrator and Chairperson, and was a former President of the Wall Street Training Directors Association.   

Josh Feinberg, Strategic Partner/Senior Coach

Josh's past 15 years of experience has allowed him the opportunity to work with over 2500 Financial Advisors across the United States. Josh's clients include industry giants such UBS, Oppenheimer, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, RBC Wealth Management, Wells Fargo Advisors, Merrill Lynch, and Raymond James, and his financial advisors' production range from $250,000 to $15,000,000 per year.

He excels at assisting Financial Advisors and Branch Managers to realistically identify and determine a course to reach their goals. Josh is committed to over-servicing his clients to achieve maximum results and goal attainment for each participant therefore maintaining an outstanding rate in client longevity. He uses a hands on approach that includes role playing and teaching his clients how to be prepared for client and prospect communication.

Josh graduated from Florida State University with a B.S. in Communications and has worked in the sales/consulting/training field for more than 15 years.

Joy Tornillo, Strategic Partner/Senior Coach

 
Joy Tornillo has been working as a coach in the financial services industry since 1997.  She has worked with hundreds of Financial Advisors and Teams ranging in production up to $10 million. She specializes in team building and business plan development and enjoys developing systems and procedures in the areas of marketing and client service. Joy has also worked on the Branch level on strategic planning including recruiting.

A business owner herself, Joy has been affiliated with Focus Partners part-time since 2006 and consults with select clients on a contract basis.

Joy has a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Olaf College and a Juris Doctorate from Drake University Law School in Des Moines, Iowa.

Jay Feldman, Strategic Partner/Senior Coach

Jay Feldman has worked in the financial services field for over 30 years, training, coaching and consulting with the industries firms and advisors. Jay has built branch offices from inception and used his business development skills to enhance advisors skill sets in areas such as client acquisition, marketing and other branding initiatives.

Jay’s experience in branch management has recently been incorporated into creating and developing coaching programs for firms and advisors. Using his process of “clarity, focus and structure” he has helped to provide a clear path and accountability for advisors and teams to break through their plateaus.

Mr. Feldman holds an MBA in marketing from Baruch College and a BA from Hunter College in liberal arts. He has taught marketing and developed training programs for Florida International University and Miami-Dade College. He resides in South Florida with his wife, Darlene.

Bill Maynard, Strategic Partner/Senior Coach

 
Bill has trained and coached Financial Advisors since 1986.  He has personally coached some of the largest producers in the industry and is a regularly featured speaker at industry events.  His background includes retail and institutional sales, fixed income, commodity and equity trading, investment banking and branch management. He has held series 7, 3, 4, 24, 30, 53, and 55 Securities Licenses, as well as Insurance.  

Bill is also the founder and Executive Director of The International Cultural Exchange, a non-profit organization that provides instruction in various percussion, dance and martial arts from around the world to “at risk” youths.

Vivian Mastrangelo, Strategic Partner/Senior Coach

Vivian specializes in coaching managers, top advisors and teams to achieve peak performance in their business. She has worked with more than 300 teams since 2007 to achieve outstanding business results.

Prior to coaching; Vivian spent 25 years as a top leader and manager of sales professionals in the Financial Services Industry as a Senior Vice President and Division Manager. She has expertise in leadership development, team dynamics, change management and organizational structure and skills.

Vivian has a BS in Clinical Psychology from Fordham University and Executive MBA from the Claremont Drucker School of Management and is a Professional Certified Coach and a member of the International Coaching Federation.

Larry Hayes, Strategic Partner/Senior Coach

Larry Hayes, CPC, ACC is an experienced coach and trainer with more than 27 years experience helping people develop themselves to achieve their own and their employers’ goals.

In the coaching world, Larry was awarded the credential Certified Professional Coach (CPC) from the International Coach Academy and Associate Certified Coach (ACC) from the International Coaching Federation. He studied extensively with Harvard University professors Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey and is certified in their Immunity To Change coaching model, and with Darden School of Business, U. VA. professors Jack and Carol Weber with whom he studied 360-Degree Feedback coaching, and with Nick Ellse and Mike Lunnon-Wood at Raising the Bar in London, England. Each experience focused on separate and complementary aspects of coaching that provide an outstanding client coaching experience.

Larry has coached leaders, executives and top performing Financial Advisors in the US and in Europe, and as Master Coach and Coaching Team Head at UBS in the USA where he was responsible for the talent development of others in their coaching organization. During a multi-year assignment at UBS home office in Zürich, Switzerland he was cofacilitator of Senior Leadership Development Programs as part of his role in the leadership development initiative in their Wealth Management and Business Banking Division.  Previously, he was First Vice President and Group Manager of Advanced Financial Advisor Development, Team Development and Practice Management at UBS Financial Services, Inc. the US division of UBS.

Larry is certified in Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and Kolbe Index, which he uses as assessment.

Suzanne Levy, Strategic Partner/Senior Coach

Suzanne works multi-million dollar producers as well as with senior leaders of Fortune 500 companies.

She partners with financial advisors, their teams and senior executives to help catalyze positive change. Her guidance is directed toward gaining new perspectives and taking bold actions to achieve outstanding—and measurable—results. Suzanne’s straightforward, insightful approach shepherds clients in identifying behaviors that promote productivity, enhance client relationships, sharpen operations and management skills, empower teams, facilitate strategic thinking and generate action plans for goals achievement.

Suzanne’s clients include Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Deutsche Bank, Accenture, Barclays, RBC Wealth Management, Travelers/Metlife, Red Bull, T-Mobile, Starbucks, Kraft, Diageo, and Mars.

Before her coaching career, Suzanne launched and managed a division of The Walt Disney Co. overseeing all publishing, marketing, consumer goods, online, new business development and promotion for many television properties. Prior to Disney, she worked in production management at HBO and in advertising at Ammirati and Puris in New York City.

Suzanne’s other experience includes serving for two years on the planning committee of the Executive Coaching Summit, a global network of senior development experts researching and integrating best practices. She worked as the career coach for Vault.com, a financial and legal industry leader in career support; has presented to the group “100 Women in Hedge Funds”; and has recently been featured as the catalyst for the book “Becoming Ginger Rogers: How Ballroom Dancing Made Me a Happier Woman, Better Partner, and Smarter CEO” by Patrice Tanaka who worked with Suzanne just after 9/11.

Suzanne earned a BA degree from Washington University in St. Louis and has completed numerous coach trainings. She has lived and studied in Paris and has practiced martial arts for six years. She recently relocated to Boulder, CO with her husband and two young children. She can be found on the running paths, the ski slopes, the dance studio or the rock climbing gym with her eight year old daughter.

Matt Vukovich, Strategic Partner/Senior Coach

An experienced consultant in the financial services industry since 2004, Matt works with a wide range of financial advisors across the country to develop and implement strategic plans for new business development, sales process, proactive service model and team building to ensure consistent growth within their practice. Matt has worked with advisors and teams from $100k to $12mm in production all over the United States. He works closely with Focus Partners as a Strategic Partner.

While attending Auburn University, Matt earned his degree in Finance. When out of the office, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Lindsey, his son, Bryce, and his twin girls, Anna Grace and Ellie. He also enjoys playing golf and guitar.

Ed Friedman, Strategic Partner/Senior Coach

Ed Friedman has been in the securities industry for 28 years, the last 3 ½ were spent as part of the early management team at HighTower Advisors. During that time, he served in the positions of Managing Director of Business Development and Managing Director of the Advisor Development.

Prior to HighTower, Ed spent the prior 22 years with Morgan Stanley, Manhattan, New York. Over those years, he served in the positions of Financial Advisor, Branch Manager and Director of the Wealth Advisor program. The Wealth Advisor Program supported the top Financial Advisors at Morgan Stanley, providing training and support to attract and work with HNW and UHNW households. During his tenure at Morgan Stanley he served on the Management Committee of the private client business as well as guest speaker on development and compliance topics.

He holds FINRA series 3, 7, 8, 63 and 65 licenses. Mr. Friedman holds a BA in Business Administration from Rutgers University and is a graduate of the Executive Education Program at the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business.

Leslie Jones, Strategic Partner/Senior Coach

Leslie has worked with financial firms and financial advisors in a coaching and training capacity since 1997. Her work has included partnering with senior leaders to create customized training programs, leading and facilitating workshops, and coaching both teams and individuals.

She specializes in training financial advisers, executives and entrepreneurs in leadership, client relations and business development. Clients of Leslie’s have included Smith Barney, UBS, Wells Fargo, Wachovia, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Vistage, Money Concepts, AXA Advisors, Guild Mortgage Company,National City Mortgage, as well as small business owners and entrepreneurs.

Leslie was spotlighted in Women’s Magazine as one of the top 10 Boulder County women to watch in 2010, www.womensmag.com/featured/10-in-10. Leslie holds a B.A. Degree in Psychology from Michigan State University.

Rich Desalvo, Strategic Partner/Senior Coach

Rich enjoyed a successful 25 year financial services career, spending his final 12 years at Morgan Stanley as a Managing Director. Rich was Department Head of many of the firm’s major lines of business including: Mutual funds, 401(k), SMA, Closed-end funds (IPO), Unit Investment Trusts, Offshore funds, and 529 Plans.

Since that time, Rich has coached and worked with some the countries’ largest asset management firms and top advisors. As an accomplished motivational speaker, he is often asked to speak to groups of advisors and wholesalers on a variety of value-add topics. In addition, he has established a presence as a regular to numerous national media outlets including TV appearances on Fox News Channels.

Jerome Blum, Strategic Partner/Senior Coach

Jerry has worked in the Financial Services Industry since 1981, starting at First Investors Corporation, moving onto Bache (Prudential Securities), Merrill Lynch and UBS.

He began his career as a Financial Advisor, later becoming a Management Training Associate, Sales Manager and finally Branch Manager having been in a supervisory role since 1994.

Jerry’s area of specialty is coaching, training and developing Financial Advisors and helping them to grow their practices.

Jerry attended Queens College majoring in education and lives in Manhattan where he is active with the American Cancer Society.

Jeff Wetherbee, Strategic Partner/Senior Coach

Jeff has a long successful history of training and coaching in the investment industry. Throughout his 22 year career in branch management, with EFHutton, Prudential Securities and UBS, he created and developed four award winning offices. This was achieved through coaching and guiding the financial advisors he hired. Several of the FAs that Jeff hired developed into multi-million dollar producers.

He has coached for the large wirehouse FA s, as well as those in the smaller independent firms. He recently completed an eight month coaching assignment for bank channel advisors at one of the nation’s five largest banks. He takes great pride in the growth of the FAs which he has coached. Jeff also owned and built a plastic product manufacturer in Boston’s high tech belt and has managed New York State’s venture capital fund.

A New England native, Jeff currently resides in Upstate New York with his wife and daughter. He is a graduate of the Boston University School of Management and has served on the board of several non-profits in the Albany area. Jeff had the privilege of serving as a “Fellow” at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lally School of Management and Technology during the 2007-08 school year and has lectured at the business programs at both Boston University and Union College.