NAIFA Launches New Future Leaders Program

The goal of the program is to reach out to students interested in careers in the financial services industry.

By Emily Cabbage

NAIFA has recently unveiled a new Future Leaders program for students interested in careers in the financial services industry. The new program is under the oversight of NAIFA National’s Young Advisor Team (YAT) Committee, chaired by Blake Gillies, DIA, Director, The DI Concierge.

The Future Leaders program increases the number of offerings of NAIFA’s Talent Development Center of Excellence, launched earlier this year. The Talent Development Center is a new NAIFA initiative meant to create a content and event hub focused on topics of personal and professional performance during every stage of an advisor’s business lifecycle.

In addition to the Young Advisor Team, which focuses on programs for advisors under the age of 40 or with fewer than five years in the business, The Talent Development Center houses NAIFA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work and award programs.

“The Young Advisor Team has been hard at work this year amplifying our message to new advisors as to the value of belonging to your professional association,” Gillies said. “It just makes sense that we should expand our reach to include students who are interested in coming into the business and teach them the tremendous role NAIFA plays in advocacy in the financial services industry.”

The University of Illinois was the first educational institution to sign onto the program and included attending NAIFA’s Performance + Purpose professional development conference as part of its finance curriculum for the current semester.

Students from Texas A&M University, Penn State University and Winthrop University will also participate. The program is open to any college student, and colleges and university faculty are invited as well.

The University of Illinois was the first educational institution to sign onto the program.

Program Kickoff

The inaugural session was started on Oct. 6, and it included a short program featuring top NAIFA members, complimentary access to NAIFA’s 2020 P+P Conference and concluded with a session with sponsor, Cambridge Investment Research.

Christopher Gandy, University of Illinois alumnus, NAIFA-Chicagoland President and Founder of Midwest Legacy Group, kicked off the program by presenting a session titled, “The Power to Provide Financial Security.” This was followed by a panel discussion of YAT occupying different roles in the financial services industry that included:

Isaac Amaya, Annuity Sales Manager at The Pinnacle Group

Becky Brothers, Regional Marketing Strategist at Principal Financial Group

Cheryl Canzanella, LUTCF (2019 Young Advisor Team Leader of the Year), and Brokerage Director at MassMutual

Derek Scheetz, Financial Advisor at Lifetime Financial Growth

Delvin Joyce, CLU, ChFC, RICP, Managing Director at Prudential and member of NAIFA’s board of trustees, presented a session titled, “The Power of Mindset.”

And Brian Haney, CLTC, CFS, CFBS, CIS, LACP, CAE, Vice President of The Haney Company, concluded the program with a session on how NAIFA elevates your personal brand and differentiates you in a competitive landscape.

Immediately following the last session of P+P, students came together with Shane Westhoelter, AEP, CLU, LUTCF, CEO of Gateway Financial Advisors, Inc., and Jeff Vivacqua, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Cambridge Investment Research, gave the students insight on the profession and took a few questions as well.

To learn more about the Future Leaders Program, visit Tdc.naifa.org/futureleaders.

Emily Cabbage is Director of Marketing at NAIFA. Contact her at ecabbage@naifa.org