Northwestern Mutual - Los Angeles |
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Contact Us515 S Flower St Fl 33 Office: 213-243-7000 Take the first stepAre you ready for financial independence? Are you ready to be your own boss? Are you ready to make a positive impact on people's lives? Take The First Step
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Management TeamOur strong management team is the foundation of our business. These individuals work hard to provide expert guidance and direction to our financial representatives in order to support their success as independent business owners.  Matthew J Plocher, CLU®, ChFC®Managing Partner Matt began his career with Northwestern Mutual as a college intern in 1991. While attending Murray State University in Kentucky completing his BS in Marketing, Matt was an intern for two years. During his senior year in 1993, he paid for 69 lives leading the company. After graduating he moved to St. Louis to continue his career with The Qualy Group, knowing only a handful of people in St. Louis. In 1996, Matt became a College Unit Director. By 1999, Matt had become Managing Director of The Plocher Group, a scratch district. The Plocher Group has received the DA Growth Award every year. During those years, he has pursued and accomplished many career opportunities. In August of 2002, he took on the role of Chief Development Officer. Matt became the Managing Partner of the Los Angeles office for Northwestern Mutual in June, 2011. Matt is married to Justine and they have two children - Claudia, who is 7 ½, and Matthew, who is 5 ½. When not riding his Harley, Matt enjoys spending time with his family playing sports or as a spectator watching his children play. He also enjoys golfing, tennis and basketball. In St. Louis, Matt was actively involved in several charities - March of Dimes Bikers for Babies, Scramble for Kinds Golf Tournament, and United Way De Tocqueville Society. He is looking forward to getting involved in local church endeavors in the Los Angeles area.  Thomas Stewart, CLU®, ChFC®Chief Development Officer Tom began his career with Northwestern Mutual in 1992 after graduating from Marist College with a B.S. degree in Business Administration. He quickly set out and built a successful financial security practice while completing his MBA from the State University of New York. He quickly became a leading Financial Representative in the Albany, New York office of Northwestern Mutual. Tom discovered that he had an interest in pursuing a leadership role within the Network system and was appointed as the Assistant Managing partner in Albany, New York. While in that capacity he helped build a development system that led to tier leading results for his newer Financial Representatives. While in Albany, Tom was able to build a top 20 field unit. In 1999 Tom accepted an appointment to Managing Partner of the Buffalo, New York Network Office. While there he and his team doubled the production base in that office. He was a multiple year recipient of Northwestern Mutual’s Growth Award (Network Office level 1997, 2003-2005, and District Network Office level 2008-2009) and built the organization to a GAMA Gold Agency. During Tom’s tenure in Buffalo, New York, he was an active board member of the American Red Cross and The Kevin Guest House and was also recognized as Volunteer of the Year for The March of Dimes Buffalo chapter. As part of a planned expansion project, Tom accepted the position of Managing Director for the Downtown Los Angeles Office of Northwestern Mutual in 2006. As part of the Senior Management team, Tom offers his years of expertise to his new city and is focused on continuing to build upon the organization. Tom has earned the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Chatered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designations from the American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Tom and his wife Robin are the proud parents of a son and daughter and live in Los Angeles, California.  Gary R Davis, CFP®Managing Director Gary was born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. During his infancy his family relocated to Las Vegas where he has resided ever since. Gary graduated from Cypress College with a degree in Mortuary Science. Upon graduation he started and owned Davis Funeral Homes, Cemetery and Crematory. It was during his career in Funeral Service that he understood the importance of sound financial planning and the impact that death has on families as well as business owners. After a long career in Funeral Service, Gary joined Northwestern Mutual in 1997. The knowledge and insight acquired during his years as Funeral Director has enhanced his career as a Financial Advisor. Gary is a member of the Masonic Lodge, the Shrine of North America and the Southern Nevada Association of Financial Advisors. He is a Past Chairman of the Justin Timberlake Shiners’ Hospital for Children Open, a PGA Tour Event. Gary is an avid golfer and enjoys playing as often as possible. He has also run numerous marathons and works out on a regular basis. Gary believes that commitment, hard work and drive is part of what makes someone successful both personally and professionally. “What we do as Financial Advisors makes such an impact on people’s lives. I take great pleasure in learning from my clients and in turn helping people realize their financial security dreams.”  Shawn C Mackey, CLU®, ChFC®Managing Director Shawn Mackey, Managing Director of Northwestern Mutual in Irvine, has been providing financial solutions for over 20 years. Shawn started with Northwestern Mutual in 1987 as a Financial Representative in Chicago. In 1991, Shawn joined Northwestern Mutual's Irvine office and in 1996, he became its Managing Director. Under his leadership, Northwestern Mutual in Irvine has led all District Network Offices nationally numerous times. In 2010, Shawn became the Managing Director for our Irvine office and is focused on growing the organization and developing both existing and new Financial Advisors entering the business. Amanda RhoadesDirector of Training and Development Amanda has been with Northwestern Mutual since 2002, after graduating from the University of Missouri with a BA in Psychology. She worked with the Northwestern Mutual office in St. Louis for 6 years and the office in New York City for 3 years before moving to Los Angeles in August of 2011. As the Director of Training and Development, she oversees training for the Los Angeles, Irvine and Las Vegas offices and also coaches and develops new financial representatives in the downtown Los Angeles office. Amanda has earned the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation from the American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Amanda lives in Pasadena with her husband Kevin and their 2 dogs. She enjoys running, cycling, swimming, yoga, cooking and gardening. Michelle McCormickDirector of Marketing As Director of College Marketing, Michelle is responsible for building relationships with local universities and recruiting students for our growing College Unit Internship. She is also focused on the training and development of new full-time financial representatives and advisors. Michelle has been with Northwestern Mutual's Los Angeles office since August of 2010. She has a background in education, working most recently as a high school English teacher. Prior to obtaining her teaching credentials, she worked in the social services field with at-risk youth. Michelle graduated from Azusa Pacific University with a BA in English. She is only a few units away from obtaining her Master’s in Education from APU. Michelle loves to spend time with family and friends, is regularly involved with her church, and enjoys traveling, kayaking, hiking and being at the beach. She lives in Costa Mesa.  Kristin BurkeDirector of Campus Recruitment Kristin Burke started her career with Northwestern Mutual in 2005 as the Marketing & PR Intern in the St. Louis, MO office after graduating from Saint Louis University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. After graduating from Saint Louis University with a Master of Arts Research in Communication, she became the Director of Marketing & Communications. Kristin moved to Los Angles in 2009 with her husband where she joined the Los Angeles office as the Director of Training & Development. In this role, Kristin became a certified coach through Northwestern Mutual. She started recruiting as the Director of Recruitment in 2011 and focuses on campus recruitment. In this role she recruits both intern and full-time Financial Representatives and works with the College Unit Director managing the internship program. In her free time, Kristin enjoys running and has completed 16 half marathons and 4 marathons. She is also a certified spinning instructor and teaches at several clubs in downtown Los Angles. She is passionate about making an impact and serves as the Executive Director of WIN BIG, a women's networking group that meets in downtown LA. She volunteers her time as an advisor with the Alpha Detla Pi chapter at University of Southern California, as a member of Friends of the Y with the Ketchum YMCA and as the co-chair of the Jingle Bell Run for the Arthritis Foundation.  Michele BurnsDirector of Recruiting Michele possesses over 15 years collectively of experience in career development, executive recruiting, business development and developing interviewing strategies for individuals. She spent approximately eight years as the Director of Contracting overseeing budgets and contract negotiations for the U.S. Government. Subsequently, Michele secured a role as the Director of Operations for a skin care company where she was responsible for the oversight of sales in North America and managed a sales team of over 500 employees. From there, Michele leveraged her strong sales and business development skills to secure a role with a well known international recruiting firm as a Division Director specializing in Accounting and Finance. During her tenure there, Michele relocated to Southern California to assist with the expansion of the direct hire operations in their Southern California offices. She has worked with other executive search firms bringing with her a solid reputation in providing quality service and valuable market knowledge to both candidates and clients. Michele has worked with companies such as KPMG, California Pizza Kitchen, Cheesecake Factory, Westfield, Mattel and Mellon Bank to name a few. True to her extensive business background, she was also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Las Vegas in their business department. Michele has expertise in the recruitment of top talent in the area of accounting, finance and human resources dealing with, business development, career counseling, and succession planning with emerging companies in the Southern California market as well as organizations with a national presence.  Jessica FendonDirector of Recruiting and Development Jessica Fendon is the Director of Recruiting and Development and is focused on identifying talented, ambitious individuals with strong communication and relationship building skills to join our firm. She joined Northwestern Mutual's Los Angeles office in March of 2009. Jessica has a background in marketing, working most recently with The Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences. Prior to joining The Ritz-Carlton, she worked for a high-end, boutique real estate firm in Mammoth Lakes, CA. Jessica graduated from Principia College with a BA in Business Administration. She obtained her Master’s in Sports Management with an emphasis in marketing from the United States Sport Academy. Jessica loves to swim, run, play tennis, ski, snowboard, cook and travel. She lives in South Orange County with her husband, Tucker. Sarra SchnellerRecruiter |
