Personal

Leonard grew up in Huntington Beach, California. He studied Business Accounting at California State University, Fullerton. He later moved to Los Angeles, where he met his wife, Marilyn. They now live in San Diego with their two children, Lindsay and Alex.

Leonard spends a lot of his time traveling and meeting with clients. He appreciates learning everything his clients have to share from their personal and professional experiences.

All his free time is spent with his family – he enjoys accompanying Alex on scouting expeditions and family road trips to National Parks across the country. He also loves spending time with Lindsay as she attends Rice University in Texas.

In addition, their family enjoys harvesting vegetables from their garden. Over the holidays, they love to share the fruits of their labors, whether it is pickled zucchini, butternut squash, spaghetti sauce made from homegrown vine-ripened tomatoes, or confectionaries.

Leonard and Marilyn are incredibly proud of Lindsay and Alex. Lindsay and Alex have excelled in their classes and competed in worldwide science competitions. Leonard and Marilyn support Lindsay and Alex as they stand out in their courses and love to share their creativity on school projects. 

Leonard is a proud father and always wants to celebrate his children's accomplishments: including when Lindsay scored an interview with Dr. Ruben Mendoza at California's 13th Spanish Mission - Mission Soledad.

Professional

Leonard's career has provided him the ability to explore the breadth of business needs. Before he began his career in financial services, he provided accounting services as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Leonard has served as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Director of Operations and Marketing in both the Retail and Health Care sector where he restructured companies to achieve better outcomes.

In 1995, Leonard discovered his calling to financial services when a former employee told him that “because of you, I achieved my dreams” based on their one hour conversation about saving for a home and retirement.

It gives Leonard great pleasure to work with clients, understand their financial issues, and craft a solution based on their needs to help them accomplish their goals and objectives.

Education

  • Bachelor of Arts & Sciences in Accounting from California State University - Fullerton

Designations and Licenses

  • Certified Public Accountant (CPA) - A designation given by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to those who meet education and experience requirements and pass an exam.
  • Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) - Specialty credential for CPAs who are expert at helping individuals with all aspects of wealth management. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants grant the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) credential only to certified public accountants with significant personal financial planning education and experience.
  • CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional - A certified financial planner refers to the certification owned and awarded by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. The CFP® designation is awarded to individuals who successfully complete the CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements. Individuals desiring to become a CFP® professional must take extensive exams in the areas of financial planning, taxes, insurance, estate planning and retirement.
  • Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®) - A chartered life underwriter is a professional designation for individuals who wish to specialize in life insurance and estate planning.
  • Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®) - A chartered financial consultant is a professional designation representing the completion of a comprehensive course consisting of financial education, examinations and practical experience.

Associations and Memberships

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) - Founded in 1887, the AICPA represents the CPA profession nationally regarding rule-making and standard-setting, and serves as an advocate before legislative bodies, public interest groups and other professional organizations. The AICPA develops standards for audits of private companies, and other services by CPAs; provides educational guidance materials to its members; develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination; and monitors and enforces compliance with the profession's technical and ethical standards.

  • Money Doctor Panelist
  • Member, Retirement Plan Committee
  • Member, Personal Financial Specialist Credential Committee
  • Member, Media Task Force
  • National Ambassador Spokesperson
  • Former Member, Personal Financial Planning Executive Committee
  • Former Member, Financial Literacy Commission
  • Past Chair, Emerging Processionals Task Force

California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA) - The CalCPA is the largest statewide professional association of certified public accountants in the United States with more than 42,000 members.

  • Past Chair, Personal Financial Planning Committee, Co-Chair Investment Sub-Committee, Communications Committee, and State Council Member
  • Past President, Orange County/Long Beach Chapter
  • Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service Retirement Planning Panelist
  • Taught various courses for Continuing Professional Education for CPAs, CPE, and MCLE for attorneys
  • Junior Achievement Volunteer

Hawaii Society of Certified Public Accountants (HSCPA) - Incorporated in 1932, the Hawaii Society of Certified Public Accountants (HSCPA) has a diverse membership in public practice, business and industry, government and academia. The HSCPA is the only professional organization in Hawaii dedicated to CPAs with its purpose to promote high standards of integrity and competence within the accounting profession and to enhance the value of a CPA;

Nevada Society of Certified Public Accountants (NVCPA) - The Nevada Society of Certified Public Accountants was formed in 1946 to unite Certified Public Accountants within the State of Nevada. The Society's mission is to enhance the profession of certified public accountancy in Nevada through member service, support and advocacy for all of its members, including those in public practice, industry, government, or education.

  • Former Member

Specialties and Public Speaking Topics

  • Corporate Benefit Planning: 401(k), 403b, 457, 401a, Defined Benefit Plans & Disability Plans
  • Financial Literacy
  • Investment Planning & Tax Advantaged Accumulation Strategies
  • Non-Qualified & Deferred Compensation Planning
  • Risk Management Strategies
  • Retirement, Estate, & Charitable Planning
  • Business Continuation Planning

On behalf of the AICPA, CalCPA, and NVCPA, Leonard has appeared on television, radio, and has been quoted in many leading financial publications globally, including:

  • The Wall Street Journal
  • BBC Capital
  • Bloomberg
  • Time
  • BusinessWeek
  • Forbes
  • USAToday.com
  • CNN

Listen to some of Leonard's past radio recordings:

Read some of Leonard's quotes through the AICPA:

Professional Awards

  • CalCPA Vince Chin State Committee Service Award 2014
  • CalCPA Voice of the Profession Award

Lending a hand in my community.

As part of Northwestern Mutual, I'm proud to help accelerate the search for better childhood cancer treatments while supporting families undergoing treatment, and survivors from late effects. Here are some of the organizations we partner with:

Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer (ALSF)

ALSF funds cancer research, raises awareness, and supports the families of children with cancer. Since 2012, Northwestern Mutual, its employees, and financial professionals like me have donated more than $20 million to support ALSF and fund over 400,000 research hours.

Visit partner website

Alex's Lemonade Stand logo

Beads of Courage

Beads of Courage is an art-in-medicine program that helps kids with cancer tell their unique treatment story through colorful beads that are symbols of their courage.

Visit partner website

Beads of Courage logo

Here are my areas of expertise

Financial Planning

Insurance Protection Strategies

Life Insurance Strategies

Retirement Planning & Income Strategies

Education Planning & Funding

Disability Planning

Multigenerational Planning

Estate Planning

How Northwestern Mutual helps you live the life you want.

When people feel better about their money, good things happen—they become more confident and feel more secure. For more than 160 years, Northwestern Mutual has helped people achieve the financial flexibility they need to live more and worry less.

Being a mutual company means Northwestern Mutual reports to its clients, not Wall Street. They don't believe in chasing fads or taking undue risk for short-term gains. Instead, they take a long-term approach—both in the way we help people plan to reach their goals, and in the way they do business. This has served their clients (and mine) well through all kinds of economic ups and downs, including wars, recessions, even the recent pandemic.

It's why I'm happy to be part of a company that's in it for the long-haul and prioritizes clients over profit.

Close Up of Northwestern Mutual building column