The HPP Team

As a Private Wealth Advisor, Michael’s priority is helping others connect their purpose to their wealth. He spends much of this time with clients identifying the problems they’re trying to solve and how their financial plan can help them achieve their goals. While many of his clients work in the financial community and other specialized fields, he’s found they appreciate a strategic, yet straightforward approach to their planning. Michael’s clients lead busy lives, so his team is there to provide accountability and to make it easy to execute on their plan. Heritage Planning Partners is built to provide clarity, serving our clients to achieve what’s possible.

As a co-founder of Heritage Planning Partners, Michael also leads our advisory team. He has always spent time mentoring and developing advisors, so he aids in developing the next generation of professionals to serve our clients for decades to come.

Michael began his career as an intern in 2001 while completing a finance degree at Loyola University Chicago. From an early stage, he wanted a career that was built on personal relationships, working to make a difference in people’s lives. More than 20 years later, he’s grateful to have had an early start, seeing the benefit of his work with long-term clients.

Michael has qualified for Northwestern Mutual’s Forum multiple times, being recognized as top advisor in the organization. In 2021, he was named by Forbes as one of the 250 top financial security professionals in the nation. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner and has his Certified Private Wealth Advisor®, Wealth Management Certified Professional®, and Chartered Life Underwriter® designations.

Michael lives in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood with his wife Genevieve and their two daughters, Lucia (9) and Mariana (6). As a family, they love seeing live, local music performances; he and Lucia are even taking piano lessons at a neighborhood music school. Michael also enjoys getting involved at the girls’ school, Near North Montessori, lending his time however he can.

As an avid runner, Michael enjoys being active on the weekends, but he still finds some time to cook, watch soccer, and enjoy a glass of wine with his neighbors.

As a wealth management advisor with more than 20 years of experience, Ben provides comprehensive financial planning for professionals, families, pre-retirees, and retirees. He focuses primarily on retirement income planning, helping clients articulate their long-term goals and create practical plans to achieve them. As they work together, he becomes his clients’ trusted confidant, providing insight about important financial topics and helping them navigate major life decisions. Ultimately, Ben’s goal is to give others confidence about their future and the decisions they make with money—about their spending habits, savings, investment strategies, and insurance plans. By overseeing each client’s entire financial world and providing valuable feedback and guidance, he hopes to remove their worry and concern, giving them freedom to feel good about their progress and the decisions they’ve made.

With his entrepreneurial drive and desire to help people, Ben knew early in his career that financial advisory would be a good fit for him. After working at a consulting firm for a few years, he joined Northwestern Mutual in 2001 and started his own practice. He loved the opportunity it provided to build relationships, have deep conversations, and connect with people on important topics that made an impact in their everyday life. After running his own practice for 16 years, he founded Heritage Planning Partners with Mike and Adam.

Ben has earned the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, Certified Private Wealth Advisor®, Retirement Income Certified Professional®, and Chartered Life Underwriter® designations. He is also a member of Finseca, an organization that provides education, training, and growth opportunities for financial professionals. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

Ben grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and now lives in La Grange Park, Illinois, with his wife Bridget and their daughters, Molly (17) and Anna (13). (They also have a dog named Sadie and a hamster named Pluto.) Ben enjoys spending time with his family, and whenever they can, they like to visit their cabin in Michigan, where they play board games, read, take walks, and swim in Lake Michigan (when it’s warm, of course!). In his free time, Ben likes to run, bike, and play the occasional round of golf. He also volunteers as a mentor with WITS (Working In The Schools).

As a wealth management advisor, Adam helps clients identify what matters most to them and create a financial action plan that supports their vision of success. By gaining an understanding of the person and purpose behind the plan, he becomes their financial advocate, overseeing the big picture and facilitating details that support their holistic well-being. More than anything else, Adam’s clients trust him and the Heritage team because of who they are as people. He knows that meaningful wealth management is about much more than numbers, and he believes his and his team members’ combination of high character, experience, and technical acumen are what give clients the confidence to entrust them with their wealth, their families, and their futures. With a high level of empathy, he helps people define who they are and what they want out of life before moving forward with financial solutions. As such, he’s adept at serving a variety of clients and is especially passionate about working with individuals in the healthcare industry and those experiencing major life changes.

As he works with clients, his goal is to remove the worry and angst of life, giving them assurance that, as they focus on what matters to them, he’ll be there, making sure their finances are supporting a strong future and meaningful present. Adam’s objective for his clients is the same as that for his own family—to make sure money is never the driving force behind their decisions. He believes life is about experiences, and he wants the people he serves to enjoy every moment of their journey as they prepare for the road ahead.

Adam joined the financial industry in 2002 because it enabled him to experience people in a meaningful, truthful way. After sitting in on a meeting with his parents and their advisor, he realized this career could help him reach the heart of others. That day, he experienced his parents in a way he never had before; his father was open and vulnerable, as was his mother. It was a side he’d never seen of them before, and from that moment, their relationship grew stronger because he saw the purpose behind their actions. At 20 years old, he had believed he knew most everything about his parents, but he discovered there was more. And so, after earning his degree in finance and entrepreneurship from The University of Illinois Chicago, he relinquished his plan to attend law school and joined Northwestern Mutual—and he’s never looked back.

Since then, Adam has been named to Northwestern Mutual’s Forum every year since 2010, an honor reserved for the top advisors in the organization. In 2021, Adam was also recognized by Forbes as one of the top financial security professionals in the nation. He has earned the Chartered Life Underwriter® designation and has his Series 7, 6, and 63 registrations. He is also a member of the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts (IDFA™).

Adam married his high school sweetheart, Jodie, and they live in the northern suburbs of Chicago with their three children: daughters Allie (13) and Taylor (10) and their son, Jordan (8). They also have a bichon/poodle puppy named Snoopy that the whole family adores. Adam most loves spending time with his family, whether he’s coaching Jordan’s baseball team, coaching softball for Taylor, crafting with Allie, or just having fun with the whole crew in the backyard.

Tommy partners with clients to provide purpose-driven financial planning, regularly meeting with them to discuss their goals, review their progress, and update their strategies. He works primarily with busy specialized professionals like attorneys, physicians, engineers, and financial professionals, educating them about their plan and helping them prepare for the life they want to live. He knows that most people don’t enjoy digging through financial details—they’d rather be spending time with family or friends—so he takes as much off his clients’ plates as possible, helping give them peace of mind that their wealth is taken care of as they enjoy their life. His goal is to give them more time and energy to focus on things they care about, whether that’s their career, family, personal goals, or all of the above.

Tommy’s favorite part of being an advisor is walking through life with clients and learning about their unique goals. He loves knowing that no two plans are alike, and that when he works with a young family or professional, he gets to witness their dreams turning into realities.

Tommy started his career as an interest-rate trader at the Chicago Board of Trade, where he worked for six years. At the time, he was a client of Northwestern Mutual, and his financial advisor asked Tommy if he’d ever considered being an advisor himself. Tommy loved the idea of getting to spend time with people every day, and after recognizing what holistic planning had done for his own life, he decided to pursue a career as an advisor. He joined Northwestern Mutual in 2016, where he became good friends with Ben, Mike, and Adam, who mentored him as he grew his practice. With a shared vision for a collaborative, purpose-driven practice, Tommy officially joined the Heritage team in January of 2022.

Tommy graduated from the University of Chicago in 2011 and has a degree in economics. He has earned the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, Chartered Financial Consultant®, and a Chartered Life Underwriter® designations. He also has his Series 6, 7, and 63 registrations.

Tommy lives in Hinsdale, Illinois, with his wife Lauren and their golden retriever, Ralph, who is (mostly) a very good dog. In the summer, Tommy and Lauren enjoy hanging out by the lake at their cabin in northern Wisconsin or spending time in the city. In his free time, Tommy likes to travel, golf, fish, and spend time with family and friends. He also coaches a Near West Little League team.

As an Associate Financial Advisor, Kathy works with clients on establishing new accounts or policies and servicing existing accounts and policies. She strives to deepen the relationships between the advisors and their clients through learning all that she can about their financial and life goals and plans. Kathy had a strong passion for and energy around training and helping associates develop as they join the team, so she is looking forward to dedicating more of her time to the development of the company and training new associates.

Kathy has extensive experience in the world of financial services as she worked for Northwestern Mutual on and off since 1999 up until her joining Heritage Planning Partners in 2018. She has her series 7, 63, and life and health licenses.

Kathy currently lives in Tinley Park with her boyfriend Alejandro. She is a huge Cubs fan and a lover of yoga – she currently attends sessions at a studio in Mokena where she has developed a warm, special community. She is also the “Aunt Kika” and Godmother to her niece who she adores!

As an Associate Financial Representative, Alicia’s role consists of guiding new clients through the onboarding process once they have decided to implement their financial plan with Heritage Planning Partners. She diligently walks clients through the various steps and helps gather the appropriate information needed to ensure the process goes smoothly. She loves the feeling that she is making a difference in people’s lives through working to help clients find peace within their financial and personal lives.

Alicia graduated from Central College in Iowa with a Bachelor of Communication and Media Studies in 2013. Prior to entering the financial industry, she worked in digital marketing for three years. Alicia stumbled into the financial world through a mutual connection and fell in love with the culture and the mission of helping people. She started with Northwestern Mutual in 2017 working in the Denver office but joined the Heritage Planning Partners team in January of 2021. She is life and health licensed, long-term care licensed, and has her Series 7 and 63.

Alicia lives in Chicago with her husband Josh. In her free time, she likes going to concerts, playing in their summer softball league, riding horses, and being a great aunt to her adorable niece and nephew. She is very adventurous and has gone skydiving and spent a semester abroad studying in London! She enjoys tea and watching one of her favorite movies, The Labyrinth.

Brian helps our team provide comprehensive financial planning designed to help people reach their goals. With more than 17 years of experience in the industry, he’s helped clients navigate all sorts of financial situations, and he focuses on meeting people where they are and helping them move forward. Whether he’s helping a young family grow or working with retirees on their distribution plan, he loves getting to work with all kinds of people who each have unique goals. He knows that at the end of the day, his work is about what they want to achieve, not his own opinions. Consequently, he spends much of his time listening and educating. He creates the guardrails that guide his clients, but he believes it’s just as important that they understand how their plan works—because when it comes down to it, they’re the ones who will build their life and change their future. He’s passionate about serving others, and no matter where our clients are when he meets them, Brian’s ultimate goal is to make a lasting difference in their lives.

Brian started his career in 2004 with Mosaic Financial Group, where he focused on asset management for HNW clients and eventually worked his way up to a management position. In 2019, his neighbor (Adam Waitzman) told him about the team at Heritage Planning Partners and their mission to provide purpose-driven financial planning. Brian loved the culture, values, and growth mindset at Heritage, and in 2020, he joined the team as an associate financial representative. He loves being able to meet people where they are and work with all kinds of clients, knowing the planning they do will make an incredible impact on their future.

Brian has a degree in finance from Western Illinois University and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. He also has his Series 65 and 7 registrations and has completed the Dale Carnegie Course®.

Brian grew up on the northwest side of Chicago and now lives in Deerfield with his wife Lindsey, their three-year-old son Hudson (aka Huddy), and their daughter Molly, who was born in July of 2021. As a family, they love visiting the botanical gardens and spending time together outdoors; Huddy especially loves exploring the forest preserves with this dad.

In the winter, Brian participates in a bowling league, and when the weather is nice, he enjoys golfing and playing 16-inch softball with friends he’s known since high school. In 2011, he and several longtime friends started a philanthropic golf league called Friendship Golf Association. Every year, the members host a tournament, and whoever wins at the end of the season chooses a charity to which the league donates. Brian has been the president since 2016, and since its inception, the league has grown to more than 75 members.

As an Associate Financial Representative, George gathers information from clients to process applications, sets up any medical appointments they may need, and processes any client trades when called for. He also works hard to keep clients up to date on the process of their applications and provides them any necessary information based on their obtained insurance policy coverages and investment products. George values maintaining a respected relationship with all clients of the company and strives to understand their long and short-term goals.

George graduated from Holy Cross College in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Business and he also completed his Master of Business Administration and Management at Bethel University in 2020. His previous role before joining Heritage Planning Partners in June of 2022 was as a Personal and Relationship Banker at JPMorgan Chase & Co. for almost three years. He has obtained his life license, has passed both the Series 6 and 63, while learning how to master his new role.

George currently lives in Indiana with his wife Alondra and two children Camila (3) and Alonzo (6 months). He is planning to move to Chicago in the next month and hopes to live in Humboldt Park. Although this move is intimidating for him and his family, he is looking forward to not having to mow his lawn anymore! His favorite part of the day is in the morning when he finally makes it to Chicago after the long drive from home. He recently ran a half marathon in the city, is bilingual, and occasionally coaches children in his community in soccer. His favorite vacation he has taken was to Disney World two years ago, and one movie that he could watch countless times is Forrest Gump.

As an Operations Associate, Rob helps clients get from Point A to Point Z and everything in between. He handles service work with clients’ insurance and investments by executing reconsiderations, bank and personal contact information updates, withdrawals of money, and much more.

Rob graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor of Science in Small Business Administration and Management. He developed his strong leadership and organizational skills through his time working for the Village of Orland Park for almost six and a half years. He worked as a Lifeguard, Team Leader, Squad Leader, and eventually Assistant Manager. He values his experience there so much that he continues to go back and volunteer his time training the new lifeguards. He also worked as a Business Operations Manager at Loopie, a laundry delivery service in Chicago.

Rob lives in the suburbs of Chicago with his three-year-old corgi named Indy and hopes to move to the city soon, possibly the Gold Coast area. He also loves travelling and adventures and has been cliff jumping in Colorado before! He loves the movie Inception with Leonardo DiCaprio and has even seen it ten times, but still does not fully understand it. He loves to cook, but hates to do dishes and he enjoys his relaxing daily commute on the train with his headphones on to zone out and wind down.

As Director of Operations, Michele handles all the ongoing operations of Heritage Planning Partners. She is an essential part of the team, as she manages all financials, facilities, the internal affairs of the company, and more. She oversees the firm’s operations to make sure that everything runs smoothly.

Michele has been in the industry for over 20 years, she has a great deal of experience and expertise. She previously worked for Kemper, Zurich, CNA Insurance, and JPMorgan Chase, but has been with Heritage Planning Partners since August of 2019. One of Michele’s most enjoyable parts of her career is mentoring and coaching. Because of this, in the future she may work towards becoming a professional coach to fill in some of her free time.

Michele lives in Bartlett with her husband Mark and their two dogs Stella and Bailey. She has one son and a granddaughter whom she adores and spoils. She loves spending time with her family on the weekends, working on renovating her home with her husband and visiting Colorado – it is her favorite place!

Serving as the Operations Manager, Grace works her hardest to make sure the team members and overall operations are running smoothly so that clients receive superior customer service. She manages the team and ensures that all things are working accordingly, operationally.

Grace has lots of experience in her current role, as she has previously worked in insurance operations, then served as a Case Manager and Associate Financial Advisor. Previously, she worked at Northwestern Mutual for two years and has been at Heritage Planning Partners since it was created in 2017. She is life and health licensed and has also passed her series 7 and 63 exams.

Grace lives in Chicago with her husband Dane and dog Gigi. Coming home after work to her dog is her favorite part of the day! In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her friends and family, exploring local businesses, restaurants coffee shops, and wine tastings. She loves travelling and would like to start travelling more frequently.

As an Operations Specialist, Patti assists clients with their various risk and investment needs. She oversees assigning client requests to the designated team members to ensure nothing is missed; and services investments and insurance policies, money deposits, withdrawals, and more. In her role at Heritage Planning Partners, she is happiest when she is assisting clients with whatever they may need to keep their accounts in perfect order.

Patti has a rich background in Executive Management support and Customer Service. She worked in the Advertising and Art Department for the Chicago Tribune Media Group for 10 years, she was an Executive Operations Assistant at Koch Industries for 9 years, and an Executive Assistant and Corporate Communications Manager at King Koil Licensing Company for 17 years. She started with Heritage Planning Partners as an Executive Assistant in 2019 and has now moved into the Operations Specialist role. She also has her life and health license.

Patti lives in Orland Park, has two grown sons and a 15-year-old puggle named Delilah. In her free time, she loves to kayak, garden, ride her bike, camp, take walks, and more. She cherishes her mornings because they are a fresh start to a new day, and she loves a good challenge. She also enjoys her morning coffee with creamer loaded with flavor. She looks forward to having dinner with her family every night because she loves to cook and spend time with them after their workdays. If there was one thing that she could eliminate from her life, it would be worry.

As Marketing Coordinator, Kelsey creates and updates all Heritage Planning Partners marketing collateral, both client-facing and internally. She also creates social media posts and updates for HPP and each advisor, including our affiliates, and tracks their reach. She advertises the partners and HPP’s achievements and expands the exposure of the team. Kelsey plans and executes client and team events, promotional items and gifts for clients and team members, updates the HPP website with new designs, post copies, new team members or new titles, etc. Another large part of her daily tasks are scheduling for Adam Waitzman and his clients and handling internal and external speaking engagements.

Kelsey has worked with Northwestern Mutual since 2014, starting as a marketing coordinator where she mostly worked on scheduling for advisors. She has worked for numerous Financial Representatives in her career, so has lots of great experience in expanding their businesses on the marketing side. She has worked part-time with Heritage Planning Partners since 2020 and full-time since April of 2022. She previously worked at CBS Chicago for three years in the marketing and promotions department before joining Northwestern Mutual. In her future with HPP, Kelsey hopes to continue her growth in marketing on a larger scale.

Kelsey is originally from Chicago and lived in the downtown area for 10 years, before taking a leap of faith and moving to Florida in March of 2021 with her boyfriend Garrett and maltipoo Zia. In her free time she enjoys exploring new, fun places in Tampa, taking Zia to dog beaches, and trying new restaurants. Her favorite part of her day is when she gets to come home and snuggle Zia (sorry Garrett).

As Financial Planning Coordinator, Mike works on creating, updating, and monitoring clients’ comprehensive financial plans. He works closely with their advisors to ensure that the team has developed a thorough and accurate plan that matches their individualized goals. His favorite part of his job is when he and his team can deliver plans to clients that demonstrate to them that they are financially secure and that they can live the lifestyle they want to without major concern. Mike believes it is his job to lose sleep over a client’s plan, so they don’t have to.

Mike graduated from the University of Illinois in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Consumer Economics and a concentration on Financial Planning. It was here that he received his education requirements that are set by the CFP Board. He obtained his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional certification in 2019 and his WMCP® certification in 2021. He also has his Life and Health license and passed the Series 7 and 63 exams. Mike previously worked as a Financial Advisor for about four years and an Account Executive for about a year and a half before joining Heritage Planning Partners in March of 2017.

Mike grew up in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago in Lockport, but now lives in Chicago. He enjoys exploring the city and trying new restaurants. He loves the summer when he can go boating with his friends and family and hang out on the water on a hot, sunny day. He is a huge University of Illinois basketball fan who bleeds orange and blue! He loves travelling to Champaign in the fall to attend their football games with his friends, and he is also a big Chicago Bulls fan.

Justin has extensive knowledge about investments as he has had experience in the financial industry for eight years. As a Private Wealth Analyst, Justin creates financial plans and recommendations for clients based on their ever-changing needs and wants. He also analyzes prospective client portfolios closely. Additionally, Justin monitors existing client investment accounts to make sure that their money is invested properly and beneficially.

Justin graduated from Trinity Christian College in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Finance where he developed an extensive breadth of knowledge about all things finance. After graduation, he served as a clerk on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade for an options trading firm for 1 year. After that, he went on to work as an Investment Analyst with Northwestern Mutual-Chicago for four years before joining the team at Heritage Planning Partners in 2019. He has his Series 7 and 66 licenses.

Justin is married to his wife Sarah and lives in Gurnee, Illinois. Outside of the office, Justin enjoys going boating with his family on Fox Lake in Illinois and Gun Lake in Michigan during the summertime. He also enjoys Formula 1 racing. Justin makes sure to never miss watching a race on T.V. and even attended his first live one in Austin, Texas in 2021! Justin loves traveling (he has backpacked across Europe), but also always looks forward to dinner with his wife every night.

As Director of Investments and Planning, Hrach works with clients and advisors to deliver customized and holistic solutions designed to fit the needs of each client. Having been an investment professional for over 25 years with a wide range of experience, Hrach appreciates the individual needs and resulting complexities that can exist in each portfolio and enjoys tailoring solutions to those needs. As the needs of clients evolve through time, or because of risk tolerance, obligations, income and/or wealth, Hrach recognizes that changes to financial solutions, such as investments and insurance, may be appropriate. Hrach enjoys monitoring and discussing economic developments, market performance, asset class suitability within a portfolio and tailoring a portfolio to the needs of each client. He takes a long view of the markets encouraging others to not be distracted by short-term movements and is an advocate of diversification.

Hrach started his career at Morningstar working his way up to Research Director and learning all he could about mutual funds. While there, he worked on new quantitative investment evaluation methodologies and has been quoted in the media. He made the switch to managing institutional portfolios including pension funds and 401-k plans where he worked with a wide variety of investments and asset classes including hedge funds and private equity. While managing investment portfolios, Hrach learned about liquidity and risk management, benchmarking, governance, and more. Hrach received his Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1987 and has been a Chartered Financial Analyst since 1997. Hrach’s post graduate attainment of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation is an indication of his interest in investments and hunger for knowledge.

Hrach lives in Park Ridge, Illinois with his wife Hilda and their two kids Mariana (18) and Lukas (16). In his free time, he volunteers at a local school. Hrach’s love for travel began when, during a six-week sabbatical, he drove around the U.S. and saw the amazing variety of landscapes, people, history, and food. It was also during this trip that Hrach discovered photography. He takes his DSLR with him almost everywhere (much to the chagrin of his family).