Leadership
Benjamin R. Pappas
Chief Executive Officer
As CEO of Bates Group, Ben uses his strategic planning and finance background to set direction and financial policy while also being an active participant in, and driver of, the company’s overall strategy. He previously served as Bates' Chief Operating Officer and President. Prior to joining Bates Group, Ben was Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of D.A. Davidson Companies’ Equity Capital Markets business, where he was responsible for the implementation of strategic growth initiatives and the development of an annual financial budgeting and forecasting process. He has also previously worked as an equity research analyst and strategic planning analyst focused on the technology industry, after beginning his career as a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch.
Jennifer L. Stout
Vice-Chair of the Bates Board of Directors and Senior Executive Advisor
Bates Board Vice-Chair and Senior Executive Advisor Jennifer Stout began her Bates Group journey as a CPA at a Big Five accounting firm before being recruited to Bates Private Capital, where she grew from her first position 25 years ago as a financial analyst into the senior executive leadership role she fulfills today. Jennifer has worked at every level within our organization, from Analyst to CEO, and understands how we work, and how we can help our clients, better than anyone. Today Jennifer is a key driver of growth at the company, expanding Bates’ practice groups and service lines at every opportunity in order to ensure that Bates' clients nationally and internationally are receiving exceptional support in all challenges they face.
Julie R. Johnstone
Managing Director, Practice Leader - Securities and Financial Services Litigation & Consulting
Julie began her career in the audit department at Ernst & Young and continued her audit focus at Symonds, Evans & Company. Her talent for consulting at the controller level inspired Julie to start her own business, Johnstone Accounting Solutions. In 2001, she began providing consulting services to Bates Group and we never let her leave. Julie's current role is as a Principal in our organization, where we leverage her expertise as a practice leader and Managing Director of the Retail Litigation group and Data, Analyses and Analytics practice. Our clients receive the highest standard of work from Julie, leaving us confident that our core business is in the right hands.
Alex Russell
Senior Managing Director, Regulatory & Litigation
Alex is the Managing Director of White Collar, Regulatory and Internal Investigations, responsible for managing cases related to institutional disputes involving trust or banking entities, or cases related to investment banking or sales & trading, as well as those involving ultra-high net worth individuals. In addition, Alex is responsible for managing matters involving the assessment of economic damages. As an expert, he provides quantitative witness testimony in the Securities Litigation practice area, and substantive testimony related to valuation practices and mathematical modeling in the field of finance. Alex is an adjunct professor of finance at both Linfield College and in the Graduate School of Management at Willamette University.
Brandi Reynolds, CAMS-Audit
Chief Growth Officer and Senior Managing Director, Fintech & Banking Compliance
Brandi B. Reynolds, CAMS-Audit, CCI, CCCE, is a Managing Director at Bates Group, with more than 17 years of experience in the financial services industry supporting companies in the areas of Anti-Money Laundering and consumer protection compliance. A leader in the areas of MSB and Fintech, Brandi was the founder, President and CEO of CorCom, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in federal compliance and risk management. At Bates, Brandi leads the MSB, Fintech and Digital Assets Compliance practice for clients operating in and seeking to develop services in this space. She and her team specialize in BSA/AML/OFAC Compliance, Independent Reviews, Money Transmitter License Support, and Compliance Training for financial services firms in the Money Services Business (MSB), Non-Banking Financial Institution (NBFI) and Fintech marketplace.
David Birnbaum
Managing Director, Business Development and Strategy
David is a Bates Managing Director focused on business development and strategy. David brings a passionate, focused commitment to his role at Bates Group, with an emphasis on generating new client business and expanding current practice areas. At Bates, David's leadership role includes nationwide business development and expert recruitment for our litigation, internal & regulatory investigation, regulatory enforcement and compliance practices. He brings a wealth of knowledge based on his 27 years of in-house counsel experience as the principal legal executive and adviser to Merrill Lynch’s U.S. and international wealth management businesses, where he successfully delivered legal, compliance, regulatory and business advice resulting in profitable business execution with the highest standard of integrity. David's experience comes from a vantage point that afforded him a high level of vision within a major financial institution. As a result, he brings the benefit of this experience to our clients, partnering with them to provide solutions to problems they face and suggestions for those that may not have materialized yet. David helps create the fit between what our clients need and what Bates does.
Hank Sanchez, Esq.
Managing Director, Bates Compliance
Henry “Hank” Sanchez, Jr. is a Bates Compliance Managing Director and a seasoned compliance and legal professional with over 30 years of securities industry experience in risk management, investment advising, financial legal issues, risk assessment, and compliance and due diligence. Before coming to Bates, Hank held senior compliance leadership roles at a consulting firm in New Orleans and with LPL Financial Corporation. Prior to this, for more than 10 years, Hank was a regulator with both the SEC and FINRA. He is also a FINRA Arbitrator. Hank is a frequent speaker at securities industry conferences and an accomplished writer, whose work has appeared in securities industry-related publications throughout his career.
Rhonda Davis, JD, CAMS, CFE
Senior Managing Director, BD-RIA Compliance
Based in Houston, Texas, Managing Director Rhonda Davis specializes in BD and IA Compliance, including annual Rule 206(4)-7 testing for investment advisers, FINRA 3120 testing, and AML independent testing. She also assists clients with FINRA Membership Applications, FINRA and SEC examinations and responses, litigation support for broker-dealers and investment advisers. Rhonda has spent nearly 25 years serving in both legal and compliance roles in the securities industry. She holds both the Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) as well as the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) designations and is an active member of the Houston Fraud Association.
Andrew C. Daniel
Securities Litigation Expert and Consultant
Andrew began his career in the audit group of Cooper & Lybrand. In his 15+ years at Bates, Andrew played an integral role in managing securities litigation cases and investigations as well as becoming one of Bates' most experienced testifiers. Andrew was also been instrumental in driving business development, envisioning and developing new solutions we offer our clients, and expanding the practice areas Bates now offers. Andrew is a Bates expert and consultant in our Securities and Financial Services Litigation group and Data, Analyses and Analytics practice, where we are fortunate to have someone whose eyes are always trained on the horizon, making sure that Bates Group is well positioned for whatever comes next.
Peter J. Klouda
Director
Peter joined Bates in 2002 having previously worked at Merrill Lynch and a regional bank. Clients quickly noticed the extra benefit his industry experience brought to the table, allowing him to better develop case strategy with clients on securities litigation matters and to provide additional insights as a quantitative testifier. In addition to his client and case work in the retail securities litigation area, Peter provides valuable perspective to our clients externally, and provides valuable guidance to the growth of our firm internally.
Joseph J. Thomas
Director
Bates Group director Joseph “Joe” Thomas is a senior issues expert with thirty years of securities industry compliance, supervision, operations and administration experience. He has provided quantitative and substantive witness testimony and opinions in over 100 retail securities litigation, arbitration, and court matters. While with Wells Fargo/Wachovia Securities/A.G. Edwards & Sons, as Vice President and Finance Manager/Litigation Auditor, Joe was responsible for coordinating and supervising the preparation of financial and damages analysis reports. Prior to Wells Fargo, Joe served in leadership roles at Edward Jones Investments for 17 years and acted as firm representative in arbitration hearings. He also participated in Sales Practice Examinations with the NASD and NYSE on a regular basis.
Greg Faucher
Managing Consultant, Insurance & Actuarial Services
Greg Faucher is a managing consultant for Bates Group, where he leads the Insurance and Actuarial practice. Before joining Bates Group, Mr. Faucher was a senior consultant with LECG / Bates Private Capital Incorporated, where he used his experience in accounting and finance to provide detailed forensic analyses of account activity related to securities litigation cases. Mr. Faucher began his career as an agent/registered representative with Northwestern Mutual/Robert W. Baird & Co. where he provided professional consulting services to individuals and business owners. As leader of the Insurance and Actuarial practice, Greg is focused on delivering exceptional and cost effective solutions for our annuity, life, disability, property & casualty, employer/employee, reinsurance, captive and healthcare clients.
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