My Story

For most of my career, I worked in the surgical device industry — first in sales, and later in sales management. My job was to work directly with surgeons, in the operating room, introducing new techniques and new devices and instructing them on how to use those tools correctly and safely. As I moved into management, I brought my sales representatives into that same environment, teaching them not just how to sell, but how to think about their role in that room.

From the outside, you might assume the surgeon was the most important person in that room. After all, they held the instruments. They had the credentials. They were the ones making the decisions.

But that's not how I saw it. And it's not how I taught my team to see it either.

The most important person in that room was always the patient.

My focus — and the focus I instilled in every representative I managed — wasn't on making the surgeon comfortable with us or making sure the sale went through. It was entirely on making sure the device was used correctly and that the outcome for the patient was the best it could possibly be. There were moments — more than a few — where I had to stop a surgeon mid-procedure and redirect them. Sometimes firmly. Because a good outcome for the patient was the only outcome that mattered. I taught my reps to do the same: to walk into that operating room with one priority, and to never lose sight of it regardless of the commercial pressure around them.

And as it turned out, a good outcome for the patient was also what led to lasting professional relationships and, yes, future sales. Doing right by the patient and doing well in business were never in conflict. They were the same thing. That was the philosophy I lived, and the philosophy I taught.

There is a word for that orientation — for being legally and ethically bound to prioritize someone else's wellbeing above all other considerations, including your own. That word is fiduciary.

When I transitioned into financial advising and learned what it meant to operate under a fiduciary standard, it didn't feel like a new concept. It felt like something I had already been practicing and teaching for years. Becoming a Certified Financial Fiduciary® wasn't a difficult decision. It was, as I like to say, a no-brainer. It was already baked into my DNA.

I'll also be honest about something more personal.

Before I found my way into this profession, I didn't always follow the advice I now give. I went it alone financially — didn't save enough, didn't seek good counsel, and trusted that hard work and a stable career would be enough. Then my career ended — not because of anything I did, but because of decisions made far above my level, by people in government whose choices rippled down and changed everything. I found myself burning through savings I hadn't adequately built, navigating a transition I hadn't planned for, and learning firsthand what it feels like to wish you'd had a trusted advisor in your corner years earlier.

That experience didn't break me. But it shaped me profoundly. It is part of why I take this work so seriously, and why I am genuinely invested in making sure the people I work with are better prepared than I was — with a plan that is thoughtfully built, continuously monitored, and always, unconditionally, in their best interest.

My wife and I have called Alpharetta home for 38 years. We raised two daughters here. We now have three grandchildren — all the motivation a person needs to think seriously about legacy, about what we build and what we leave behind.

This community isn't just where I work. It's where I live, where I worship, where I volunteer, and where I've built the relationships that matter most to me. That kind of rootedness changes how you do business. When your clients are your neighbors — when you see them at community events, when your families know each other — the commitment to doing right by them isn't abstract. It's personal.

I'm actively involved in several organizations that reflect the values I bring to my practice:

• BNI (Business Networking International) - founder of my chapter, the largest in GA, as well as several other leadership positions.
• Alpharetta Business Association - currently on the Board of Directors
• Senior Resource Alliance of North Atlanta - active member of group of professionals serving the senior community
  
• ACAP Forsyth/North Fulton Chapter - leadership team, non-profit organization providing information, resources, support and community for adult children as they care for their aging parents.
• Special Needs Respite - advisory board for non-profit organization providing respite care resources to parents of special needs children who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford respite care.

Credentials & Registrations:

• Certified Financial Fiduciary® (CF2) - National Association of Certified Financial Fiduciaries, 2019
• Securities Registrations: Series 6, 7, 63, and 66
• Georgia Property & Casualty License
• Georgia Life & Health License
• Georgia Variable License

If any part of this resonates with you - if you've ever felt unsure whether the advice you were getting was really for you - I'd welcome the chance to have a conversation.

When we meet for the first time, there is no agenda and no obligation.  You share your goals.  I share how I work.  We both decide if moving forward makes sense.