Maximum Impact Partners

"Thank you for your insights and knowledge regarding territory management. Not only have you helped me improve my skills, but I also have a solid plan of action for how to make the most of the opportunity before me." - Mutual Fund Wholesaler

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Our Maximum Impact Partners

Our people are our strength. With decades of experience in all facets of the financial service business, we know your world inside and out and know how to maximize it. Our team has spent their entire careers in financial services companies, in sales organizations, even leading marketing teams. We understand your business, your successes, your pain and we know how to help.

Ami M. Tully, CFP, President

Maximum Impact Partners brings deep financial service industry and functional expertise to the marketing and distribution challenges our clients face. With more than 12 years of experience in making change happen, we have developed approaches to mobilizing and enabling sales organizations that are unique, practical, and proven. Since founding the company in 1998 with marketing expert, John Lotka, Ami has worked in collaboration with each client to develop new insights about the sales strategy and mobilizes the organization to act knowing that even a small change can lead to a big impact on results.

Ami started in the financial services industry in 1982 on the inbound sales desk for Nuveen Investments, then spent years as a regional wholesaler, key account manager and went on to serve for 10 years as National Director of the Independent Dealer Division for Nuveen. Ami was also the first National Sales Manager for Fidelity's Plymouth Funds, now the Fidelity Advisor Funds, building a sales team from scratch.

Ami has worked with over 90 financial services firms in the U.S and abroad, conducting sales and management training and distribution strategy consulting. Ami has helped shape distribution initiatives for leading financial services organizations in Canada, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, and India as well as the U.S. Clients have included AIG, Sun Life, Prudential U.K., Manulife, John Hancock Retirement Plan Services, MFS, AXA Japan, Transamerica, Allianz and Pacific Life. Ami works to align the efforts of wholesalers, key account managers and sales managers at product firms, but also speaks regularly to and with advisors at national conferences and regional meetings on topics ranging from target marketing to making better connections with clients to improve sales results. Her strong belief in human potential for success sets the tone and drives our enduring client relationships at Maximum Impact Partners.

Ami received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Indiana University. She completed a Graduate Certificate in Business from Harvard Extension School in 1986. Ami is a Certified Financial Planner and serves as current president of the 300 member Women in Pensions Network. She is a mentor to business executives in the Menttium 100 program and an avid community volunteer in Scottsdale, AZ, where she lives with her husband and daughter. Contact .

John Lotka, Founder

John brings his clients 30 years of diverse business leadership experience, having served as Chief Marketing Officer for Cole Capital Markets, as Director of Marketing Administration at John Nuveen & Co., as Chief Operating and Chief Financial Officer of United of America Bank, a $35 million community bank and as a Partner at Frankel & Co., formerly the nation's largest independent marketing services agency, now part of Publicis. Throughout his career in financial services, John has developed a particular expertise in working with the affluent market.

In 1998, John took charge of marketing at Nuveen, establishing functional capabilities for database management, marketing research, distribution marketing support, advertising and financial management for marketing. While at Nuveen, John served as a member of the ICI Sales Force Marketing Committee from 1990-1997 and was a founding member of the Mutual Fund Forum, now known as the Forum for Investor Advice, a trade association that represents the interest of advisor sold fund groups whose members currently account for 80% of all mutual fund assets.

At Frankel, John established a new practice, which worked exclusively with select financial services clients, including Citicorp, Visa USA and First Nationwide Bank. Prior to Frankel, John ran the core operations and financial management of several community banks. As COO and CFO at United of America, he led a turnaround in profitability enabling the organization to be sold at a considerable profit to Northern Trust Company.

When John founded Maximum Impact Partners in 1998, he recognized that senior sales and marketing people need a flexible outside resource that can sit down with them and go right to work. To meet that need John assembled a team of experienced professionals who have years of experience on the client side creating success in their companies. He views the starting point of any client relationship as focusing on what needs to happen right now, eliminating the learning curve and leveraging the good work that has already been done by the client.

John is a graduate of University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. John lives in Scottsdale, AZ with his wife/business partner, Ami Tully Lotka and their three children. Contact .

Mark Magnacca, IMPACT PARTNER

Mark Magnacca, President of Insight Development Group, is a recognized industry expert who specializes in helping advisors create a personal brand and effectively articulate their value proposition. As a presenter, Mark's mission is to bring a unique combination of dynamic content, relevant industry experience and an interactive presentation style that brings ideas to life. Prior to founding Insight Development Group, Mark co-founded Wellesley Financial Services, a financial education and investment management Firm. Over that 10 year period, he was responsible for creating innovative, practice-development and business-building strategies. These strategies have become the foundation for his book, "The Product is You," and his training program for Financial Advisors, "The Results Accelerator Series."

Mark has worked with a wide range of financial services companies including Merrill Lynch, Smith Barney, Pacific Life, Principal and American Century. His programs have been featured in both print and television media including The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Registered Rep, and Financial Planning. He is an active participant in The Strategic Coach Master's Program and is a graduate of Babson College where he majored in finance, investments and communication. He resides in the Boston area with his wife Kristen and two children. Contact .

Maureen Wilke, IMPACT PARTNER

Maureen Wilke is the president of Wilke and Associates, Inc and an industry known practice management consultant and leader in professional development. She works closely with distribution teams and financial advisors to take their business to the next level. She is the author of The CONNECTED Advisor business systems for financial advisors and a contributor to industry publications, including Morningstar's practice management webcasts. The goal is to maximize a team's effectiveness and organizational structure, brand the practice, retain top clients and automate referrals. Maureen is known internationally for delivering dynamic workshops and presentations at financial advisor meetings and sales conferences. She combines her over 20 years of sales, marketing, and training experience with the best practices from the many financial advisors and distribution groups she has worked with, to build proactive financial teams. Her new book The Connected Advisor is coming soon. Contact .

Dr. Rick Jensen, IMPACT PARTNER

Rick Jensen, Ph.D., Founder of the Performance Center at PGA National Resort and Spa, is a nationally recognized performance consultant and sport psychologist. Dr. Jensen works extensively with top performers in the world of financial services and has consulted within Merrill Lynch, UBS, Smith Barney, US Bancorp, Prudential Securities, American Express, and First Union.

Dr. Jensen has coached over 200 financial advising teams and has trained thousands of financial advisors, investment associates, and client associates across the country. Additionally, he has consulted with managers at the complex, regional, district, and national levels. Dr. Jensen also is the creator of the Essentials of Excellence Gap Analysis for Financial Advisors, a strategic tool designed to provide financial advisors with measurable input on how their businesses measure up against the best in the industry.

Dr. Jensen also consults with and trains top performers in the world of sports. In golf, his clients include more than 50 touring pros on the PGA, LPGA, and Senior PGA Tours. His clients' combined tour victories total 195, earning them more than $64 million dollars. Thirteen of his clients have won at least one major championship and have combined to win a total of 31 majors. Dr Jensen is the exclusive sport psychologist for ESPN Golf and is a contributing writer for GOLF Magazine and The Majors of Golf Magazine. He has also been featured on ABC, ESPN, CNN, and The Golf Channel's "Golf Academy Live."

As the Player Development Consultant to the WTA Tour, Dr. Jensen consults with tennis champions including winners of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Additionally, he is the team sport psychologist for the NHL's Florida Panthers, and he has trained individuals from the world of Major League Baseball. Dr. Jensen is a performance consultant to the PGA of America, the Women's Tennis Association, the Canadian PGA, and the United States Olympic Training Center. He also consults with winners in business such as NIKE Corporation, Sprint, ADP, Ford Motor Corporation, and the World Presidents' Organization. For more information, visit Dr. Jensen's website at www.Drrickjensen.com or contact him directly at 954-752-3333. Contact .

Laura S. Moskwa, IMPACT PARTNER

Laura is the Principal of Laura S. Moskwa Consulting, providing services to retirement plan providers focusing on business development efforts in the area of TPA services and product solutions.

With over 25 years in the pension industry Laura has accumulated a broad range of experience. Most recently she worked for Transamerica Retirement Services as Vice President and Director of TPA Services responsible for the growth and development of the TPA Channel. Laura also has eighteen years of experience as a TPA in a variety of roles, including ownership and Director of Retirement Services at a Broker Dealer/RIA Firm. She has also spoken at industry conferences and lead exam study sessions.

A 20+ year member of the American Society of Pension Professional and Actuaries (ASPPA), Laura currently sits on the Board of Directors and is Chair of the Marketing Committee. Laura has also served on the Executive Committee, the Education and Examination Committee, the Conferences Committee and numerous taskforces. Laura also sits on the Center for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX) Registration Committee providing industry, TPA and Recordkeeping expertise in the review of firms applying for the ASPPA Recordkeeper Certification for Service Provider Excellence.

Laura received a Bachelors Degree in Economics and Finance from Douglas College, Rutgers University. She earned the Certified Pension Consultant (CPC) and the Qualified Pension Administrator (QPA) designations from ASPPA. Laura also holds Series 7 and 63 Security Licenses. She lives in beautiful Auburn, CA with her husband and two children. Contact .

Trent R. Smock, President, IMPACT PARTNER

Trent Smock is the founder and President of Straight-line Management Group, a management development, training and consulting firm that helps businesses and individuals achieve their goals by focusing on the behavioral strengths People bring to an organization, and how Behavior Impacts Performance. In business since 1998 Trent has a unique background as an entrepreneur and Fortune 500 executive. Rising through the ranks from sales person to company President, Trent started as a field sales rep for dictation equipment, became a sales manager, branch manager and partner is several high tech ventures and on to the President of a injection molding company. Along the way Trent was responsible for the transfer of "know-how" to Italian company Olivetti for franchising of computer retail stores in Europe and Japan. He is active in the community as a former Board Member of the Arizona Technology Incubator, Boys and Girls Club and Founding Member of the Arizona Technology Council. Trent also sits on a number of Advisory Boards for early stage companies. He is a graduate of Indiana University with a degree in Psychology and minor in Business and Political Science. He played football and basketball for Indiana University participating in the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament his freshman year. As a senior he was selected to play in the Blue Gray All-Star football game. Subsequent to college Mr. Smock was drafted by the Detroit Lions, played briefly for the Minnesota Vikings and spent two years playing basketball in Europe. Currently Mr. Smock lives in Chandler Arizona with his wife of 18 years and two teenage boys. Contact .

Jim Pomerance, IMPACT PARTNER

Jim Pomerance has over 10 years of experience teaching, coaching and training presentation, communication and sales skills in the financial services arena. He started as a consultant with one of the top presentation skills companies in the United States. From there he became the National Sales Training Director at both AIG SunAmerica Retirement Markets and Cole Capital Markets. Jim has also been a southern divisional Sales Manager at Sun Life Financial Services on their variable annuity side.

For the past 3 years, Jim started his own consulting firm, Impact Speakers where he continued to do the work he is passionate about. He serves as a keynote speaker at national conferences, breakout sessions and lunch and learns, runs presentation skills seminars in a classroom setting and travels in the field with wholesalers and reps to help teach, coach and train them to become more productive and get more immediate results.

Born in Miami Beach, Florida, Jim now lives in Alpharetta, GA with his wife, Tobi. Jim’s son Jared is a recent college graduate who majored in advertising and daughter, Erica attends Auburn University.

Jim is a major sports enthusiast and is an avid tennis player. For more information visit: www.impactspeakers.com. Contact .

Susan Bradley, IMPACT PARTNER

Susan Bradley, CFP is the founder of the Sudden Money® Institute, a resource center for new wealth recipients and their advisors, offering private wealth coaching for families and training programs for financial advisors. She is the author of Sudden Money, Managing a Financial Windfall, founder of Women Meaning, & Money®, and creator of Money Camps for Kids.

After more than 20 years as a full time financial planner, Susan's primary focus is now on education, training, and helping to build the Interior Finance body of knowledge. She brings her unique and transformational programs to the public through workshops, retreats and speaking engagements.

Susan serves the financial planning profession as a member of the FPA Board of Directors. She serves on the NFLPA's Financial Education Advisory Board. Susan, who works with clients throughout the world and is the recognized leader in the area of Sudden Money, has been featured extensively in print, on the Web, and on television with iVillage Live, The Today Show, CNBC, CNN, NPR, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times. Susan is available for keynotes interviews, training, workshops and more. Contact .

For more information see her Press Kit.

Laura Mulhall, IMPACT PARTNER

In 2002, Laura Mulhall co-founded Executive Access, LLC, a firm dedicated to supporting its clients by understanding their goals and core competencies. Executive Access assists them in bringing their message to their targeted audience via outbound telemarketing. A unit of the firm also works one on one with each field sales representative, assisting with list management and scheduling their client appointments. Currently, the firm has over 25 employees in various locations around the country.

Laura has worked in the financial services industry since 1984. She started on the sales desk for Integrated Resources, Inc and held other positions, including annuity marketing manager. In 1990, she joined Oppenheimer Funds, Inc., rising to Director of National Accounts, then Director of the Financial Advisor Division overseeing the strategic direction of the group’s forty-plus member field sales team. Budgeting and profit analysis were also key functions. She has also served as Executive Vice President at Dreyfus Service Corp where she was responsible for the sales of mutual funds and variable annuities to planners, banks, insurance companies and RIAs.

Laura is a graduate of Hunter College in New York. An active volunteer in her community, Laura lives with her family in Garden City, New York. Contact .

Kathy Heasley, IMPACT PARTNER

For more than two decades Kathy Heasley has been shaping businesses into Heart & Mind™ based brands world wide and delivering double digit bottom line results. She's worked with the big names like Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper, Proctor & Gamble, McCann Erickson and Exxon. But more importantly, she has made a career working with the smaller names, the entrepreneurial businesses that are tomorrow's big names. The know-how it takes to build brands is different than the knowledge it takes to maintain them, and Kathy's got it.

Kathy is founder and principal of HEASLEY&PARTNERS, Inc. a referral-based branding company that helps entrepreneurs and their companies grow and prosper. She's the creator of Heart & Mind™ Branding, a Rich Dad Advisor on Branding, an author of multiple books and CDs, and an international marketing and communications coach. Kathy speaks to people around the world on the power of branding, marketing and communications. Her speech topics include The Power of Heart & Mind™ Branding, How to Build Your Business Into a Brand, The Ten Reasons Why Marketing Doesn't Work, and Creating the "Brand" New YOU.

Kathy is actively involved in the community having served on the boards of the Arizona Chapter of Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) and the Scottsdale/Paradise Valley YMCA. She is involved in the Arizona Animal Welfare League, and is an avid supporter of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and their worldwide No More Homeless Pets campaign. Kathy is a graduate of Penn State with a BA in Advertising. For more information visit: www.heasleyandpartners.com. Contact .

Julia Tang Peters, IMPACT Partner

Owner, LEQ LLC
Strategic Coach for Leading
Discern.
Decide.
Execute.

"Leadership, as I define it, is bringing together the power of one and the magic of many people. I started LEQ to help executives do more of the work of leading."

"You are scary," writes one financial executive. "You have been remarkably intuitive, if not prescient, throughout all of this and I am very grateful, awed by your gifts and blessed you are on my team." He continues, "This sprint race is coming down to the wire and I don't want to misstep so close to the finish line. Thanks for your commitment to my success."

Clients prize Julia's knack for seeing what others miss. Her perspective bridges business and psychology, the profit motive and human motives, leading and managing. Julia acquired her unique set of skills from a career that spans business, education, family therapy and business coaching. Her clients include John Hancock Financial Services, Leo Burnett Co., Cardinal Health, Baxter International, Hollister Inc., Ikaria Biotherapeutics, and a range of professional services firms.

Prior to LEQ, Julia was Managing Consultant at Hewitt Associates, where she worked with Fortune 100 companies to operationalize leadership competencies across their global workforce. During the dotcom boom, she was Chief Marketing Officer of a technology venture capital firm, Buzz Divine/Divine interVentures, helping take the start--up to IPO. As Managing Director at the Leo Burnett Company and Account Director at Frankel & Company, Julia was a strategic marketer and brand--builder for global brands (Citibank, Citicorp, Motorola, Kraft Foods, Hallmark Cards). Julia also provided counseling services at Northwestern University, The Family Institute and The Family Counseling Center of Wilmette.

Julia lives in Chicago with her husband. Her children are now independent young adults. In addition to work and family, she enjoys global travel and meeting interesting people. Education-Masters of Management, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University Masters of Science in psychology, Northwestern University, School of Education & Social Policy Certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy, The Family Institute, Northwestern University Bachelor of Arts, Lake Forest College, Phi Beta Kappa. Professional Designations-Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the State of Illinois. Contact .

Martha Clark, IMPACT Partner

As Principal of Clark Creative, Martha is passionate about helping companies and organizations package their brands. She has over twenty-five years experience developing identity programs and marketing campaigns for local and national companies that span a diverse group of industries. Early in her career, Martha enjoyed success in the high-tech arena and with consumer-oriented companies such as Arizona Public Service Company, Alexander Homes, a luxury home builder in Arizona, and Golf Digest Schools.

In 2000, along with new clients in the business services sector, Martha began working with Arizona State University (ASU) creating freshman recruitment and orientation materials. In 2005 she forged a relationship with the School of Global Management and Leadership (SGML) producing the school's first biannual magazine Business@sgml. Her work with SGML gained her recognition and a contract with Mary Lou Fulton College of Education to produce their 2009 annual report as well as conference materials for their spring Indigenous Languages Symposium. Recently Martha's work has included creating trade show displays and collateral materials for financial services companies, among them NRF Capital Markets, a firm based in the Denver area.

Martha's passion doesn't stop there, she has donated her design talents to charitable organizations such as the American Heart Association, Habitat for Humanity and the Happily Ever After League. She has also played the role of instructor, teaching an introductory graphic design course to industrial design students at the College of Technology and Innovation at ASU. In addition to praise from clients, Martha has received recognition for her work in Letterheads in the Third Dimension and Creativity 26.

Martha graduated from ASU's fine arts program with a degree in graphic design. An avid golfer, she is currently serving as vice president of the 500 Club Women's Golf Association. Martha lives in Peoria, Arizona with her husband and has a son in the U.S. Marine Corps. Contact .

Dan Sondhelm, IMPACT PARTNER

Dan Sondhelm is a partner and vice president of SunStar, a public relations and marketing consulting firm located in historic Alexandria, Virginia. He helps financial services firms including mutual fund companies and money management firms attract and retain investors by smart marketing and energizing sales teams. He understands the often challenging legal, regulatory and compliance issues facing clients.

Dan prides himself on fostering strong, enduring relationships with reporters, journalists and producers of regional, national, and international financial, business, and trade publications and broadcast media including the Internet. His long-time relationships with the press also make him a credible source of expert referrals when reporters and news shows are looking for expertise. This access allows him to provide accurate information, facilitate interviews, shape positive news stories and control those that are not-so-positive.

His efforts have led to clients garnering exceptional coverage in leading publications including Forbes, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Sondhelm's initiatives have also led to clients securing interviews and coverage with CNBC and Fox News Channel.

Billions of investor dollars have been raised from his firm's efforts.

Dan is also the editor of FundFactor.net, the innovative Web site designed to help financial marketers better communicate with shareholders, grow assets, and achieve a strong, positive and successful public profile. The site, with more than 2,000 subscribers, allows industry professionals to interact and share ideas and strategies regarding marketing and distribution issues in the financial services industry.

Dan speaks about financial and investor relations topics at well-attended industry conferences, including those sponsored by IBC USA Conferences, IIR Conferences, US Bancorp Fund Services, Federated Investments and FRC’s MarkeTrends Conference. He has been quoted by a number of industry trade publications including Money Management Executive, Ignites, and PR Week, and newspapers such as The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal on the latest trends in financial marketing. He has also published a number of articles about how positive news stories help attract and retain investors.

He served on the advisory board to Institutional Investor's First Annual Mutual Fund Industry Awards.

Dan received both his BSBA in Finance and his MBA in Marketing from the Kogod College of Business Administration at The American University in Washington, D.C. Contact .