meet our team of experts
and advisors

We’re in the relationship business and our leadership team exemplifies the integrity and trustworthiness that we bring to every encounter. Explore our most important resource – the team that makes our success possible!

Greg Gauthier Director at Newcleus Credit Union Advisors

Gregory Gauthier

Director

As a founding member of Aperçu Advisors, Greg has over 25 years of experience in the financial institution market. During his career he has worked at Oppenheimer & Co, Citizens Financial Group, and Commonwealth Financial Group. Additionally, Greg owned his own consulting business, GT Financial, for 17 years.

He believes the resources and intellectual capital at Newcleus allow for seamless case design and comprehensive solutions in the credit union sector. Greg regards his consultant position with integrity, creating peace of mind and bringing a holistic, integrated team approach to each client.

Greg graduated from Assumption University in Business Management and received his MBA in Finance and Marketing from Providence College. Gregory currently resides in Seekonk, MA with his wife and daughter. He enjoys playing golf, traveling, and aims to learn something new each day. Greg very much enjoys his role as on the Board for Camp Ruggles, a 45-year-old nonprofit for children with emotional and behavioral disabilities.

Tedd Meyer

Director

Tedd Meyer Director at Newcleus Credit Union Advisors

Tedd Meyer

Director

Tedd brings more than seven years of experience in proposal development, program management, and process improvement to Newcleus. As Regional Managing Director, Tedd is responsible for engaging new clients, servicing existing clients, providing cutting edge solutions, and refining processes in order to better benefit them.

Prior to Newcleus, Tedd worked as a Sales Associate at Meyer-Chatfield Credit Union Division. Before that, Tedd was a Project Manager at Northrop Grumman, leading management of programs ranging from $50-$100 million, and participated on proposal development for programs ranging from $500-$1,000 million.

Tedd is a graduate of the University of Alabama, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems, and a Masters degree in Operations Management. He is an avid golfer and holds the Series 66, 7, and Life and Health Licenses.

John Moreno

Managing Partner

John Moreno Managing Partner at Newcleus Credit Union Advisors

John Moreno

Managing Partner

John has been serving the needs of credit unions and their members since 1999. His career in the movement began with CUNA Mutual Group as a face-to-face financial advisor. Following that start in the Credit Union industry, he moved to Madison, Wisconsin to work with Members Capital Advisors in the institutional client service, marketing and sales.

After his time at MCA, he re-joined CUNA Mutual Group as a specialist in non-qualified deferred compensation plans and non-703 investments. After leading his division in client acquisition and service for 4 consecutive years, John joined Meyer-Chatfield to bring truly innovative institutional investment and insurance solutions from the large bank market and insurance market to credit unions.

Glenn Smeraglio

Business Development Manager

Glenn Smeraglio Business Development Manager at Newcleus Credit Union Advisors

Glenn Smeraglio

Business Development Manager

Glenn Smeraglio started his financial services career in 1995 with The Creative Financial Group in Newtown Square, PA. He worked specifically with business owners to develop business continuation and estate plans. After seven years honing his craft, Glenn moved on to work with National Life and the Shevlin Group for five years.

In 2007, along with two long time colleagues, Glenn formed Wealth Planning Strategies located in his hometown of Newtown, PA. WPS was a comprehensive one stop shop for business owners and individuals to plan their financial future. Glenn joined Meyer Chatfield in 2016 and helped to create the foundation for the Credit Union Division. As Manager of Business Development, Glenn still uses his specific skills to cultivate relationships and connect leaders in the credit union space to ideas and products unmatched in the industry.

Since 1995 I have enjoyed working with people in finding solutions to their individual financial needs. After joining Meyer Chatfield CU Division in 2016 I have had the pleasure of speaking with and helping leaders of this industry in forming plans that lead to the continuation of strong community values rooted in the credit union space. I have melded my passion for golf and fishing into a way to spend more time with these leaders to further understand their specific future concerns. I have a one grown son and have been happily married to my wife Colleen for 31 years.

Our executive team

Daniel L. Barbaree

President and CEO

Daniel Barbaree President and CEO of Newcleus

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 McMaster, EVP CFO at Newcleus

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

Richard Pearson, EVP, Chief Operating Officer at Newcleus

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

Christopher J Pezalla

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 Porter Corporate Affairs

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.

Our core staff

Jonathan Barnes, Vice President of Business Development at Newcleus

Jonathan Barnes

VP, Non-Qualified Benefits

Bill Barr, Network Administrator at Newcleus

Bill Barr

Network Administrator

Shera Brady, Director of System Operations

Shera Brady

AVP, Dir, of System Ops and Project Management

Mike Bruschini, VP, Account Executive at Newcleus

Mike Bruschini

VP, Account Executive

Kevin Burns, SVP, Director of IT at Newcleus

Kevin Burns

SVP, Director of IT

Tara Canniff, Sr. Policy Serving Specialist at Newcleus

Tara Canniff

AVP, Director of Policy Services

Donielle Carman

Donielle Carman

Policy Services/Finance Operations Specialist

Michael Carman Headshot

Michael Carman

Account Executive

Headshot of Melissa D'Amico

Melissa D’Amico

Director of Compliance and Agent Operations

Amy Feminella, Director of Marketing at Newcleus

Amy Feminella

Director of Engagement

Mark Grant , VP, Non-Qualified at Newcleus

Mark Grant

SVP, Non-Qualified

Sarah Grutka, Executive Assistant at Newcleus

Sarah Grutka

Manager of Marketing Ops, Events and Hospitality

Yul Hawkins, Account Executive at Newcleus

Yul Hawkins

Account Executive

Headshot of Amanda Hoffman, VP Account Executive at Newcleus

Amanda Hoffman

VP, Account Executive

Jack Kenney, Financial Analyst at Newcleus, LLC

Jack Kenney

Financial Analyst

Steve Kezel, Jr. Software Developer at Newcleus

Steve Kezel

Jr. Software Developer

Judy Magee

Director of Human Resources

Judy Magee

Director of Human Resources

Judy Magee’s career has spanned many different industries and environments – small start-up to large employers, and these experiences have been key to me being adaptable and ready to help change your organizational culture.

I’ve worked in all different kinds of HR environments – departments of 1 to departments of over 100. I’ve established brand new HR departments, changed departments from transactional to strategic and partnered with leaders to do the hard work of changing a culture and improving employee relations and DEI. I love starting and developing HR teams – I put together great ones!

One topic I am super passionate about – explaining how DEI and HR intersect and the changes every organization can make to reduce bias and develop an inclusive culture by making the systemic changes necessary to bring lasting change.

Dolores Marinucci, Accounting Support Associate at Newcleus

Dolores Marinucci

Accounting Support Associate

Brian McCracken, VP, Account Executive Director at Newcleus

Brian McCracken

SVP, Director of Administration

Karen Reed, Sr. Accounting Specialist at Newcleus

Karen Reed

Sr. Accounting Specialist

Jill Ricci, Executive Assistant at Newcleus Credit Union Advisors

Jill Ricci

Business Development Manager

Andrea Sandlin Account Executive at Newcleus

Andrea Sandlin

Account Executive

David Schwartz VP, Account Executive at Newcleus

Dave Schwartz

VP, Account Executive

Yeol Seong Senior Quantitave Developer

Yeol Seong

Senior Quantitative Developer

Adrianna Stefani

Adrianna Stefani

Policy Servicing Associate

Joe Verrecchio Newcleus Systems Coordinator

Joe Verrecchio

Benefit Design Specialist

Curtis Viggers

VP, Account Executive

Curtis Viggers, VP Account Executive at Newcleus

Curtis Viggers

VP, Account Executive

Curtis brings over 30 years of insurance and benefit knowledge to our firm working with both corporate and non-profit clients. Possessing extensive experience in design management, implementation, and administration of individual and group insurance plans and alternative risk funding strategies, he advises clients ranging from individual! participants, to high profile clients, and C-Suite executives. As VP – Account Executive with Newcleus, Curtis’ primarily focuses on facilitating all activities of the Credit Union Division including helping clients integrate with our MINTS reporting system.

Jared Watson, Account Executive at Newcleus

Jared Watson

Account Executive

Headshot of Rachel Wentz, VP Account Executive at Newcleus, LLC

Rachel Wentz

VP, Account Executive