The Las Vegas Valley’s money people

A look at Las Vegas’ top finance executives, who control much of the region’s wealth

Deborah Danielson, owner of the Danielson Financial Group, poses in her office. Danielson was the first woman in Nevada to be certified as a fund specialist. She has been working in the investment industry since 1981.

There are many faces in the finance world.

There are the bank and credit union officials who hold on to money and try to make it grow; the wealth managers and financial planners who invest money and advise how best to spend it; and the loan officers who dole out money to help people and businesses buy homes, cars or equipment.

Each segment serves a different purpose, but together they control much of society’s wealth. They can be crucial to the success of a person, family or business.

VEGAS INC examined the finance industry in Southern Nevada and the people leading its varied segments: banks, credit unions, commercial insurance companies, wealth management companies, financial planning firms, mortgage loan companies and U.S. Small Business Administration lenders.

Meet some of the region’s top finance executives:

    • Jade Anderson

      Jade Anderson

      Jade Anderson

      Founder/CEO, Capstone Brokerage

      Anderson, then a recent UNLV graduate, founded Capstone Brokerage in 1997, tapping into what he identified as a viable and lucrative market.

      “I saw an opportunity in the insurance industry to develop a scalable recurring revenue business model with relatively low barriers to entry,” Anderson said.

      Under Anderson’s leadership, Capstone emerged as one of the valley’s largest commercial insurance agencies. Capstone specializes in risk management, insurance and employee benefits. The company has been included on Inc. magazine’s list of America’s top 5,000 fastest-growing companies three times.

      Anderson in 2008 was named “Small Business Person of the Year” by the U.S. Small Business Administration and has represented Nevada in Washington.

    • Larry Charlton

      Larry Charlton

      Larry Charlton

      Senior vice president/Nevada regional executive, City National Bank

      Charlton is a longtime Nevadan and veteran banker with almost 40 years of experience in financial services.

      At City National Bank, he coordinates client services, business development and marketing in Nevada. He works closely with senior executives in other sectors of the bank, including wealth management, commercial banking, real estate and core banking.

      Charlton joined City National in 2007 when it acquired Business Bank of Nevada. Before being promoted to Nevada regional executive, he was senior vice president and Nevada operations manager. He joined Business Bank of Nevada in 2000.

    • Kirk Clausen

      Nevada regional president, Wells Fargo Bank

      Clausen is responsible for the more than 120 Wells Fargo banks in Nevada.

      He began his career in 1975 at Norwest Bank in Sioux City, Iowa, as a loan officer and retail bank manager. He later was named vice president of Norwest Bank Wisconsin and eventually executive vice president and Northern Nevada regional manager in 1999.

      Norwest merged with Wells Fargo in 1998.

      Clausen is a past chairman of the Nevada Bankers Association, Nevada Works and the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada. He graduated from Morningside College in Sioux City with a bachelor of science degree in business administration.

    • David Dahan

      David Dahan

      David Dahan

      CEO, Orgill/Singer

      Dahan served as vice president and managing partner of Orgill/Singer & Associates for almost 12 years before becoming the insurance and investment company’s chief executive officer and owner with Eric Springall in 2001.

      Dahan also is active in the development of Southern Nevada’s business community. He is past president of the Henderson Chamber of Commerce and its board of directors.

    • Deborah Danielson

      President/owner, Danielson Financial Group

      Danielson, a Las Vegas native, has built a reputation for excellence among her clients and colleagues. An investment professional since 1981, she is a certified financial planner and certified fund specialist – the first woman in Nevada to achieve that designation.

      She was named one of the Top 1,000 Financial Advisors nationwide by Barron’s magazine from 2009 through 2012 and was ranked No. 2 in Nevada in 2012. She was selected among the Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors by Registered Rep magazine in 2008, 2009 and 2010 and was named one of the Top 100 Women Financial Advisors by Barron’s from 2008 through 2012. Goldline Research named her company one of the five most dependable wealth management firms in the Southwest United States.

      Danielson has a master’s of science degree in financial services and maintains securities registrations with LPL Financial.

    • Scott Emmer

      Nevada president, Mutual of Omaha Bank

      Emmer is responsible for leading the strategic growth and management of Mutual of Omaha Bank’s operations in Nevada. He oversees nine community banks in Las Vegas, Reno, Carson City, Laughlin and Bullhead City.

      He has been a Nevada resident for 36 years and has 20 years of banking experience. Before joining Mutual of Omaha Bank, he served as senior vice president, commercial banking manager and senior lender at Northern Trust Bank in Las Vegas.

      Emmer earned a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and a law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law. He has been a member of the State Bar of Nevada since 1996. He is a graduate of Chaparral High in Las Vegas.

    • Dallas Haun

      Dallas Haun

      Dallas Haun

      President/CEO/chairman of the board, Nevada State Bank

      Haun joined Nevada State Bank in 2007, bringing more than 35 years of commercial banking experience to the job.

      Under his leadership, Nevada State Bank was awarded the insured deposits of Silver State Bank in 2008 and Great Basin Bank of Nevada in 2009. Nevada State Bank also acted as the payout agent in the 2009 resolution of Community Bank of Nevada.

      Haun began his banking career in Michigan and spent 20 years with Harbor Bank of Long Beach in California, eventually serving as president and COO. Prior to taking the reins at Nevada State Bank, he managed commercial and private banking services for City National Bank in Beverly Hills and served on the bank’s executive committee.

      Haun is a graduate of Michigan State University and received his postgraduate degree from the University of Washington’s Pacific Coast Banking School. He also completed the Executive Program at the Anderson School of Business at UCLA.

    • Andrew Hunter

      President/CEO, Silver State Schools Credit Union

      Hunter came out of retirement in 2011 to try to turn around the privately insured Las Vegas credit union.

      Silver State, which had $626.5 million in assets and 58,708 members as of September, is one of the largest credit unions in Nevada and has nine Las Vegas Valley locations.

      Hunter has 30 years of experience working in financial institutions. He retired in 2009 as CEO of Patelco Credit Union in San Francisco, which during his tenure added 100,000 members and $800 million each in deposits and loans.

      Hunter also previously worked at Schools First FCU in California and held executive positions at the Teachers Federal Credit Union and the Western Corporate Federal Credit Union (now the United Resources Federal Credit Union) in Orange County, Calif.

    • Chris Jones

      Founder/president, Sparrow Wealth Management

      Jones is the founder and president of Sparrow Wealth Management (formerly Keystone Financial Planning) and is a registered investment adviser in Nevada and Pennsylvania. He provides investment management and fee-only financial planning services.

      Prior to starting his firm, Jones worked as a financial adviser for several wealth management firms. He also developed retirement planning software that many firms continue to use.

      Jones is a certified financial planner and completed the CFP Professional Education Program at the College for Financial Planning in 2000. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1997 with a bachelor of science degree in economics and a minor in business management.

    • Dominic Massi

      Founder/president, Massi Insurance Consulting

      Massi is a lifelong Southern Nevada resident. He worked at a local insurance agency for more than seven years before leaving in 2008 to form Massi Insurance Services, a multi-line boutique commercial insurance agency.

      Massi is a 2001 graduate of St. Mary’s College of Business in Moraga, Calif.

    • Arvind Menon has been president and CEO of Meadows Bank since 2007. The bank was formed by local gaming executives and business leaders.

      Arvind Menon has been president and CEO of Meadows Bank since 2007. The bank was formed by local gaming executives and business leaders.

      Arvind Menon

      CEO, Meadows Bank

      Menon was named president and CEO of Meadows Bank in 2007. The bank was formed by a group of local gaming industry executives and business leaders, including Brian Greenspun, publisher of VEGAS INC and the Las Vegas Sun.

      Menon, who was born in India, previously served as president and CEO of Nevada First Bank and chief financial officer of Bank of America Nevada.

      He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the National Institute of Technology Karnataka in 1973 and his MBA from the University of Hawaii’s College of Business Administration in 1977. He also is a certified public accountant.

    • Paul Moffat

      President, Arista Wealth Management

      Since 1994, Moffet has worked with individuals, small businesses and corporations to teach them how to effectively manage their money.

      Moffat worked as an account executive in a bank, then joined Merrill Lynch & Company before starting his own firm in 2004. He received his bachelor of science in managerial finance from UNLV.

    • Kyle Nagy

      Kyle Nagy

      Kyle Nagy

      Founder/director, CommCap Advisors

      Nagy started his commercial real estate career in Las Vegas in 1999 as a real estate analyst for GMAC Commercial Mortgage, an international commercial finance company. He has originated, underwritten and closed more than $390 million in loans and has provided alternate sources of capital to some of the region’s largest development companies.

      Nagy is well-versed in the lending practices of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, Wall Street Conduits, Life Companies and local banks and was instrumental in the success of the Las Vegas Office of GMAC Commercial Mortgage, where he served as vice president before leaving in 2006 to form CommCap Advisors. He served as president for the Southern Nevada Chapter of NAIOP in 2012.

      Nagy received his bachelor of science degree in business administration and economics from UNLV.

    • James Peters

      CEO/managing principal, Integress Financial

      As head of Integress Financial, Peters oversees portfolio management, financial advisory and business strategy services.

      Prior to co-founding Integress with Dominic Rodrigues, Peters was a senior investment associate for the private banking and investment group of Merrill Lynch & Co., where he managed more than $100 million in client assets. He is a designated chartered financial analyst and certified financial planner.

      Peters received a bachelor of science degree in financial services and managerial finance from UNLV.

    • David Ross

      David Ross

      David Ross

      Branch manager/loan officer, W.J. Bradley Mortgage Capital

      Ross prides himself on developing client relationships and has an excellent track record of closed loans. He works with a variety of clients, including first-time home buyers and investors.

      Ross was born and raised in Long Island, N.Y., and came to Las Vegas in 1996 to attend UNLV.

    • George Smith

      George Smith

      George Smith

      Nevada president, Bank of America

      Smith is president of Bank of America Nevada and is the company’s commercial and business banking executive for the Pacific Southwest region.

      He previously worked for Mitsui Manufacturers Bank and Citicorp North America.

      Smith graduated from California State University, Fullerton in 1985 with a master’s degree in finance.

    • Lori Soren

      Lori Soren

      Lori Soren

      Region market president, U.S. Bank

      Soren has been with U.S. Bank and its legacy banks since 1978. She oversees wholesale banking activities in Nevada, Arizona and Utah, as well as for the bank’s gaming division.

      Over her career, she has held a variety of positions in wholesale banking, including treasury management consultant, team leader and division manager.

      Soren graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She also is a certified treasury professional.

    • Alicia Taylor

      Alicia Taylor

      Alicia Taylor

      Senior manager/broker, Mortgage Solutions

      In her 20-year career in finance and lending, Taylor has served as an executive for several Fortune 500 companies.

      She started her career in the credit card industry, then moved into finance. Most recently, she worked as an assistant vice president for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

      Taylor returned to her hometown of Las Vegas in 2004 and founded Mortgage Solutions. Her team has done hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions for thousands of clients.

      She graduated from UNLV with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

    • Wayne Tew

      President/CEO, Clark County Credit Union

      Tew has been CEO of Clark County Credit Union since 1986. He has held various positions at several financial institutions throughout his career, including vice president and controller for City-County Credit Union in Minneapolis, controller for Minnesota Online and auditor for Arthur Andersen in Minneapolis.

      Tew also has served as chairman of the client group board for Summit Information Systems, which provides data processing software to credit unions worldwide. He also was a member of the advisory board for American Share Insurance, the largest private-deposit insurance company in the country.

      He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from Brigham Young University.

    • Al Whalen

      President/CEO, The Whalen Group

      Whalen is president and CEO of the Whalen Group investment advisory firm. He is a certified financial planner and is enrolled to practice before the Internal Revenue Service.

      Whalen has lectured on taxation and investment strategies at UNLV and the College of Southern Nevada and for more than 26 years hosted a twice-weekly radio show, “Let’s Talk Money,” where listeners could get answers to questions about the economy and money-related issues.

      The Consumers Research Council of America recognized Whalen six times as one of the “Nation’s Best Financial Planners.” He also is a member of the National Association of Enrolled Agents, National Society of Public Accountants and Financial Planning Association.

    More top finance executives in Southern Nevada:

    Banking

    Pete Atkinson, CEO, Bank of Las Vegas

    Rita Brown, manager, Armed Forces Bank

    Pam Callahan, division manager, Washington Federal Savings & Loan Association

    Jeff Dummire, area director, Citibank National Association

    Gene Galloway, CEO, Plaza Bank

    Bruce Hendrick, CEO, Bank of Nevada

    Kevin LeVezu, senior vice president, Bank of the West

    Lucherg Mailloux, president, Nevada National Bank

    William Martin, CEO, Service1st Bank of Nevada

    Reed Radosevich, president/managing director, Northern Trust Bank

    William Ralston, president/CEO, Toyota Financial Savings Bank

    Tim Rogers, president, Town & Country Bank

    Larry Seedig, president, USAA Savings Bank

    Bob Strauss, branch manager, JPMorgan Chase Bank

    John Sullivan, president/CEO, First Security Bank of Nevada

    Kathy Yodice, branch manager, Beal Bank Nevada

    James York, president, Valley Bank of Nevada

    Credit unions

    Brad Beal, president/CEO, One Nevada Credit Union

    Eric Estes, CEO, Boulder Dam Credit Union

    Roy Galyean, CEO, Las Vegas Up Employees Federal Credit Union

    Dennis Huber, president/CEO, SCE Federal Credit Union

    Jim Hunting, CEO, Sierra Pacific Federal Credit Union

    Margie Lindsey, CEO, Stage Employees Federal Credit Union

    Rick Schmidt, president/CEO, Weststar Credit Union

    Carol Schumacher, president/CEO, Plus Credit Union

    Insurance

    Brian Cruden, CEO, Brown & Brown Insurance of Nevada

    Allen Kaercher, president, Kaercher Campbell and Associates Insurance Brokerage

    Eamon Springall, chief operating officer, Orgill/Singer

    Eric Springall, president, Orgill/Singer

    SBA lenders

    Julie Craven, SBA officer, U.S. Bank

    Evan Dickson, assistant vice president, Nevada State Development Corp.

    Guy Gugino, business development officer, Wells Fargo Bank

    Bob Hart, SBA Division vice president, Nevada State Bank

    Matt McKibben, vice president/senior loan officer, Heritage Bank of Nevada

    Calvin Regan, SBA Division manager, Meadows Bank

    Ann Santiago, SBA officer, TMC Development

    Rich Trang, vice president/loan officer, Mountain West Small Business Finance

    Wealth management/Financial planning

    Johanna Blake, managing director/market executive, US Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management

    James Corey, branch manager, Charles Schwab

    Dawn Gordon, branch manager, Dawn Gordon Financial Advisors

    Jessica Kartzinel, vice president of investments/wealth adviser, UBS

    Michael Novick, director/wealth manager, Morgan Stanley

    Greg Phelps, president/wealth manager, RedRock Wealth Management

    Dominic Rodrigues, chief investment officer/founding principal, Integress Financial

    Dawson White, president, Whitlock Financial

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