meet our team of experts
and advisors

Daniel L. Barbaree

President and CEO

Dan Barbaree serves as President of Newcleus, the preferred national provider of benefit and insurance administration formed from the combination of Bank Financial Services Group and Meyer-Chatfield Group. Dan leads the development of the organization by ensuring foundational philosophies and first-class servicing standards remain upheld. His supervision ensures all departments meet their goals in alignment with Newcleus’ vision and the needs of the ever-evolving marketplace.

Dan’s career began as a consultant working with various financial and technology companies in the Tri-State area. He began working at JPMorgan Chase in 2002 and was later appointed as the Senior Financial Manager for the Home Equity and Capital Markets IT businesses, overseeing $150 million in expenses and $350 million in resources. In February of 2008, Dan joined BFS Group as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer where his role played an integral part in the development and growth of BFS Group’s national sales team and back office support in Newtown. In 2013, he was named President of BFS Group.

Dan is licensed for life and health insurance in over 40 States and also holds his Series 6 and Series 63 securities licenses.

Steve McMaster

EVP, Chief Financial Officer

Steve serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of Newcleus.

McMaster is a business executive with 15+ years of experience in corporate finance, operations, human resources, and financial reporting. In addition to his role with Newcleus, he currently serves as an Innovation Advisor at Princeton University, where he advises campus-based startups through the Keller Center for Innovation and Engineering Education. 

He is a multiple-discipline executive leader and advisor with a concentration in corporate finance, employment law, executive strategy, risk management, and enterprise IT systems. He holds his MBA and Juris Doctor from Temple University and is both a CPA and an Attorney. McMaster’s success in advising firms in a wide range of fields has given him the ability to understand strategic shifts and help guide companies to grow tremendously. 

Richard Pearson

EVP, Chief Operating Officer

Rich is a graduate of Lehigh University, class of 2003 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Information Systems. He went on to hold positions with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals as the Client Services Support Leader and with The Vanguard Group as a Web Support Specialist.

Rich joined BFS Group in 2006, and has worked in various departments including roles within Design & Analysis, Client Service and Information Technology. In October of 2014, Rich was appointed Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of BFS Group, a role he continued to serve under Newcleus.

Currently, as Chief Operating Officer, Rich oversees all enterprise resource management systems, which include Newcleus MINTS, processes related to compliance, new business and benefit plan servicing.

Christopher J. Pezalla

EVP, Chief Actuary

Chris Pezalla serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Actuary of Newcleus, a national executive benefits and BOLI/COLI consulting firm.

With his extensive background in life, annuity and investment products, taxation, regulatory compliance, accounting methodologies and actuarial modeling, Chris works with Newcleus’ clients to design, implement, and administer executive benefit plans and financing strategies. He also manages insurance carrier relationships and works to design new products and strategies. For example, our proprietary LINQS+ strategy provides lifetime retirement benefits for a fixed expense, and the Titanium plan transfers the plan liability off the sponsor’s balance sheet and provides the executive more control of their benefits. Being an industry thought leader, recently he has been called upon by the FFIEC to participate in the Emerging Issues Conferences and assist in educating the national banking regulators on bank and credit union-owned life insurance.

Prior to working in the executive benefits and BOLI/COLI space, Chris has worked for three insurance carriers in a variety of actuarial roles including financial reporting, asset liability modeling, product development, marketing, underwriting, and administration.

Having graduated from the University of Minnesota at Morris with a BA degree in Statistics and Economics, Chris received his master’s degree in Actuarial Science from the University of Iowa. He also is a fellow in the Society of Actuaries (FSA), and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA). He has his FINRA series 7 and 63, and life insurance licenses.

Debra Porter

SVP, Business Development

Debra earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Bridgeport where she graduated summa cum laude. She is a recipient of the Royal Medallion of Arts and Sciences in recognition of “superior academic achievement and demonstrated leadership” and oversaw the cause marketing-based Grey Goose Vodka launch voted “Best New Product Launch for 1998” by Marketwatch.

Debra has pioneered product launch campaigns in the financial service space and several other industries. She has negotiated partnerships with premier banks and FINTECH corporations, securing significant investments (over $20 million) through angel and venture capital for corporate and nonprofit sectors.

She is also recognized for her philanthropic endeavors orchestrating fundraising events for the American Cancer Society, Dress for Success, Volunteers of America and many community-based organizations.