Northwestern Mutual
San Diego
Find a financial advisor in our San Diego office.
How it works: Tell us about yourself, see your best matches, then connect with your top pick.
Already working with someone? Find them here
Leadership
Putting people first.
All of our leadership are dedicated to doing good for our clients, employees, and community.
Get to know our leadership team
Our team is composed of exceptional leaders and financial advisors with decades of combined experience in their respective fields. Each member of our leadership team brings a unique set of skills and expertise, ensuring a comprehensive approach to addressing our financial advisors’ diverse development and business building needs. Committed to excellence and innovation, our leaders are dedicated to empowering our advisors and their teams to thrive personally and professionally in this career.
Our leaders proudly live out our mission and values each day and have helped us achieve the following national recognitions.
- 2023 & 2024 Northwestern Mutual Diversity & Inclusion Excellence Award Winner
- 2021, 2022, 2023, & 2024 Northwestern Mutual Recruiting Team of the Year
Thomas Stewart
CLU®, ChFC®
Managing Partner
Tom joined Northwestern Mutual in 1992 and quickly distinguished himself as a leader. He leads the fastest growing Northwestern Mutual office across the country and has consistently set the standard for excellence. Tom maintains his focus on the vertical and horizontal growth of the organization through his unique value system, the development of new and career advisors, recruiting and selection, college marketing, and meaningful client relationships.
Delaney Gallagher
District Director
Delaney was appointed Managing Director of the Northwestern Mutual Carlsbad Office in 2019, and then transitioned to the District Director role in the downtown San Diego Office in 2022. He is focused on growing the organization and working with our new Financial Representatives by providing one-on-one coaching, development resources, and mentorship.
Garrett Bleakley
CLU®, CFP®
Managing Director
Garrett started with Northwestern Mutual in 2001 as a College Intern, spent many years as a Financial Advisor, and then opened the La Jolla Office in 2011. Under his leadership, Northwestern Mutual in La Jolla has consistently led in their category in production nationally. Garrett is focused on growing the organization and the ongoing development of both new and existing Financial Advisors.
Robert Caraveo
CFP®, RICP®, ChFC®, CLU®, CLTC®
Managing Director
Rob joined Northwestern Mutual in 2009 as an Intern, and after running a successful personal practice, opened the Scripps Ranch Office in 2023. Rob focuses on the development of new advisors, and advanced strategies for career advisors, while continuing to run his personal practice and deliver clients with world-class financial plans. Rob is passionate about growing his team to provide increased financial services to the Scripps Ranch community and building future leaders within our organization.
David Balfour
CFP®
Managing Director
David started with Northwestern Mutual in 2014 as a Financial Advisor and became Managing Director of the Carlsbad Office in 2022. David focuses on attracting talented individuals from all careers and backgrounds into the financial services industry and developing them into successful financial advisors. He is passionate about helping advisors grow their practices and changing the trajectory of people’s lives, including their own.
Ashley Hedum
Financial Advisor
Ashley began her career at Northwestern Mutual in 2018 as a recruiter, then transitioned to a Financial Advisor in 2021, and was appointed Managing Director of the Portland Office in 2024. Ashley focus on recruiting and developing top talent in the Pacific Northwest, and building a culture of excellence, collaboration, and growth.
Matthew Benjamin
MBA, CLU®, CFP®
Managing Director
Matt began his Northwestern Mutual career as an intern in 2004, ran his practice as a Financial Advisor, and then opened the Salem Office in 2019. Matt continues to serve clients through his personal practice and is passionate about developing new advisors so the Salem team can make an even greater impact in their community.Rachel Anderson
Rachel oversees our entire firm’s organizational operations including finance, D&I, HR and staffing, marketing, internal services, and more. With a 13-year background in leadership, management, and operations Rachel brings a high level of detail, expertise, and organization in creating successful systems and ensuring they run smoothly and efficiently. Rachel has led our firm to two consecutive D&I national recognitions and continuously stives for organizational excellence for all types of advisors and staff.
Kelsey Kravitz
Chief Recruitment Officer
Coming from a 16-year HR, recruiting, and operations background, Kelsey joined Northwestern Mutual in 2016. She leads firm-wide talent acquisition efforts and selection strategy, while simultaneously coaching and developing the recruiting team members based in San Diego, Oregon, and SW Washington. Kelsey has led the recruiting team to four consecutive, national “Northwestern Mutual Recruiting Team of the Year” awards and is passionate about helping qualified individuals begin new careers as Financial Advisors.
Celia Mellendorf
CFP®, ChFC®, RICP®
Chief Development Officer
With 10 years of experience developing and coaching production leaders at a National level for the Northwestern Mutual Home Office, Celia joined our firm in 2024 as the Chief Development Officer. She plays an integral role in coaching managing directors, achieving development targets, and creating systems to enhance, track, and measure development of under 5-year financial representatives. Celia focuses on driving early productivity for new advisors, overseeing the internship program, and collaborating closely with other key leaders to recruit top talent and foster growth.
Hunter Hawkins
RICP®
Chief Growth Officer
Hunter focuses on driving productivity, efficiency, and production for Career Advisors. With over 25 years of experience in Sales and Marketing, Hunter helps advisors, teams, and leaders think bigger about the business and work to create a compelling vision for their future. He joined Northwestern Mutual in 2010 and has spent the last 15 years consulting with some of the top performers in Northwestern Mutual.
Chantel Bonneau Stewart
CFP®, ChFC®, CLU®, RICP®, WMCP®
Chief Advancement Officer, Partner, Private Wealth Advisor
Chantel joined Northwestern Mutual in 2010, and quickly established herself as one of the leading Financial Advisors across Northwestern Mutual nationally. In addition to continuing to run her financial planning practice, Chantel oversees organizational strategy and development efforts in alignment with our firms’ vision for future growth. She also serves as a mentor for developing female advisors to build a successful practice and collaborates with fellow advisors to provide continuing education opportunities.
Maddie Tew
Director of Marketing
With an extensive background in strategic communication, account management, and event planning, Maddie focuses on fostering growth for advisors and our firm through intentional marketing. She leads our firm-wide marketing strategy, public relations efforts, philanthropic involvements, and event planning to drive community impact and growth. In addition, Maddie develops new advisors and coaches top advisor teams in professionalizing their brands, adopting new marketing strategies, and elevating their client experience.
Ryan Reynolds
MBA
Director of Supervision
Ryan started with Northwestern Mutual in 2018 as the Director of Supervision. He focuses on helping our firm and advisors in California maintain compliant communications, business practices, and insurance and investment strategies in accordance with FINRA and the SEC.
Brian Emmett
CFP®, CLF®, CLU®
Director of Supervision
Brian began his career with Northwestern Mutual as a Financial Advisor in 2009, and then transitioned to Director of Supervision in 2009. He focuses on helping our firm and advisors in Oregon and SW Washington maintain compliant communications, business practices, and insurance and investment strategies in accordance with FINRA and the SEC.