Carl Tippit heads the Research Department and is a leader in the Private Client Group at Clearstead. His role at Clearstead also includes strategic growth initiatives. Mr. Tippit’s deep background in investments include individually traded stocks, fixed income, private equity, hedge funds, and direct lending and start-up equity. He also serves on Clearstead’s Board of Directors.

Mr. Tippit’s finance career spans 39 years in many facets of investments. He spent about 12 years in M&A and as CEO/CFO for several private domestic and international companies utilizing Private Equity to expand and ultimately sell to other Private Equity investors. Other experience includes several years with an equity long/short hedge fund and about 10 years as a managing partner of a Private Equity Fund of Funds.

Mr. Tippit has been a past member of the Arthritis Foundation, Fill this House, and Cleveland Trees. He is currently a board member and the Investment Committee Chairman for University School, serves on the board of the Cleveland Salvation Army and the Benjamin Rose Investment Committee.

Dave Fulton has been in the investment advisory, family office, and trust business for over 30 years.  He currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Clearstead, managing all aspects of client services, marketing, finance, and strategy for the firm.  He also works directly with several large clients.  Mr. Fulton began his career as a portfolio manager with Stein Roe & Farnham, a Chicago based investment counsel and mutual fund firm. In 2003, Mr. Fulton became President of Mellon Wealth Management – Ohio and Vice Chairman, Mellon Private Trust Company, NA.  In 2006, Mr. Fulton joined National City Corporation as Chief Executive Officer of Sterling, Ltd., the trust and wealth advisory arm of the bank.  In 2009, Mr. Fulton made a personal investment in Hartland & Co. (now Clearstead) and assumed the roles of President and Chief Executive Officer. 

Mr. Fulton serves as Trustee of University School, an independent boys’ school in Cleveland, Ohio, and was Chairman of the Board from 2010 to 2013.  He also serves as Trustee of Lake View Cemetery Association, Shaker Lakes Endowment Foundation, Business Volunteers Unlimited, and United Way of Cleveland.  Previously Mr. Fulton was Chairman of the Board of Young Audiences of Greater Cleveland, Senior Warden of St. Paul’s Church of Cleveland Heights, and Trustee of Bluecoats, a police support organization. 

Mr. Fulton lives in Cleveland, Ohio with his wife Claudia.

Greg has been a co-leader of the Private Client Group at Clearstead since the group was formed in 2010. Greg’s areas of expertise include: Wealth Management counseling, estate and income tax planning, and constructing tailored asset allocation policy and strategies for affluent individuals and their families. Greg also is a member of the Management Committee.

After graduating from The College of William & Mary with a BBA in Accounting degree, Greg pursued his interest in personal finance with a career spanning more than thirty-five years with Price Waterhouse, Fairport Asset Management, and Clearstead. At Price Waterhouse, he was the director of their Personal Financial Services practice and was a member of their national team that was the first of the “Big 8” to register with the SEC as an investment advisor. At Fairport, Greg was part of the executive group that successfully integrated several firms into today’s Fairport. Greg served as their Chief Investment Officer. Greg is a CPA, a licensed Certified Financial Planner and has presented to numerous organizations, including the Cleveland Financial Executives Institute, Ohio Society of CPAs, NEO Financial Planning Association, and various financial education seminars for multiple Fortune 500 companies.

Greg was an integral part of the Center for Families and Children, serving as a Board Member from 2003 thru 2015 and Treasurer for most of that period. He was the Center’s Family First Award winner in 2009. He also sits on the planned giving committee of University School (an all-boys day school in Cleveland) and recently served on the Board of SPEA as Treasurer. He currently serves on the Board of Urban Squash Cleveland, the Board of Friends of Breakthrough Schools, and recently was invited to become a member of the Alpha Group, a group of thought leaders from the wealth management industry from across the country.

John P.M. Higgins has broad domestic and international experience as an asset manager of private and public securities, real estate, and oil and gas investments, as well as expertise advising not-for-profit and family organizations.

Mr. Higgins was formerly an officer of Citicorp (Santo Domingo), the Lambert Brussels Capital Corporation (New York), and the Banque de Gestion Privee (Paris). For three decades, John served as the president and chief investment officer of Ram Trust Services, a small boutique investment management firm in Portland, Maine which specialized in private investments, the management of generational wealth, and not-for-profit financial affairs.

Mr. Higgins is deeply involved in the field of corporate governance and formerly was the chairman of the board of GMI Ratings, an international organization focused on environmental, social, governance and accounting risk in publicly traded companies. John graduated from Harvard and currently sits on a number of non-profit and family boards.

jhiggins@clearsteadtrust.com

Al Bartosic is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor who has over 30 years of experience in several industries including medical software, private equity, accounting, advertising, and social media.  He currently serves as the Executive Director of the Foundry, Fordham University’s hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Previously, he was the CEO of Standing Stone, a SaaS software company that specialized in subspecialty clinical decision support that was sold to a Fortune 500 company.

Prior to Standing Stone, he was a partner at Zephyr Management LP, a global private equity firm founded by the former CEO of the Rockefeller Group. While at Zephyr, Mr. Bartosic was the firm’s CFO, a member the Zephyr’s Investment Committee and a Board Member of many of Zephyr’s portfolio companies.  Zephyr invested in private companies across a broad range of industries primarily located in emerging markets such as Africa, Mexico, Korea and India.

Mr. Bartosic lives in New York City with his wife Carol.

Tom Clarke is currently an adjunct professor and mentor to students at Columbia University involved in the Executive Masters Program focusing on technology.

Most recently, Mr. Clarke was the CEO of the Weiss Group. The Weiss Group was a holding company that had businesses in money management, financial publishing and financial ratings. Before joining Weiss, Mr. Clarke was the CEO of TheStreet.com (NASDAQ) from 1999 to 2009 where he provided the strategic direction that caused TheStreet.com to become a leading financial media company and catapulted Jim Cramer to celebrity investor status. For most of his tenure at TheStreet.com, Mr. Clarke also served as Chairman of the Board. Prior to TheStreet.com, he held the position of President of Thomson Financial Investor Relations where he oversaw a business that had had clients in over 40 countries and maintained offices in most major global financial centers.

Clarke also is a business information advisor for Plum Holdings L.P., a venture capital fund based in Philadelphia that focuses on early-stage media companies. He also serves on the University of Albany ‘s executive advisory board of the Center for Comparative Functional Genomics. And he just concluded his directorship with Reis Inc. when Reis was sold to Moody’s Corporation.

Tom lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida with his wife Carol.

Bill Hall has more than 30 years of experience in the investment advisory, financial planning and fiduciary services business. He serves as President & CEO of Plimsoll Mark Capital and Clearstead Trust. Mr. Hall oversees all aspects of Plimsoll Mark’s and the trust company’s business and works directly with clients.

While at Plimsoll Mark, he authored The Safe Money Report, the flagship national investment newsletter of the Weiss Publishing Group. Before founding Plimsoll Mark as its President in 2009, he served as Chief Executive and President of WP Stewart & Co., a publicly traded company with operations in New York City, Bermuda, London, and Hong Kong.  Prior to joining WP Stewart, Mr. Hall was Managing Director of HM Payson & Co., a private trust company in Portland, Maine.  He is also a founder and the managing principal of Hazzard & Hall, CPAs, PA.

Mr. Hall has been a member of numerous not-for-profits boards including Southern Maine Community College Foundation, Maine Education Services, and Winter Kids where he held the position of Chairman. Mr. Hall is an avid sports fan with a keen interest in sports analytics. As such, he is a strategic advisor to Game Point Capital, a firm that, along with Lloyd’s of London and its own captive underwriting capacity, provides risk optimization and specialty finance products to the sports industry. He is also a certified NBA player agent.

Mr. Hall lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine with his wife Jenny.

bhall@clearsteadtrust.com

Megan will be joining Clearstead Trust when the Plimsoll Mark Capital business is combined with Clearstead Trust. Megan joined Plimsoll Mark in 2017 and has over 10 years of experience in wealth management and tax planning.  As a Trust Officer, Megan works with clients to manage their investment portfolios by establishing investment goals, setting portfolio policy, deriving asset allocation, reviewing manager selection, and overseeing the day-to-day. Prior to Plimsoll Mark, she served as a senior tax specialist for BerryDunn, a regional certified public accounting firm based in Portland, Maine, and as a senior accountant for Runyon Kersteen Ouellette, a local certified public accounting firm in South Portland, Maine.

Megan has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine and an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University. She holds a certificate in Financial Planning from Boston University. She is an avid marathon runner and lives in Portland with her husband Jason.

Jonathan L. Cottrell has twenty-nine years of experience in the financial services industry.

Mr. Cottrell has previously served as President of Fidelity FOREX, Inc., a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments, Senior Vice President of the Bank of Boston, Senior Vice President of Acadia Trust, N.A., and President of Acadia Financial Advisors.  He has spent his career advising individuals, non-profits and corporations on “best in class” risk management, investment strategies, portfolio management and hedging practices.  Throughout his career, Mr. Cottrell has held numerous licenses, and has passed the Series 6, 7, 63 and 65 Security Industry exams. Mr. Cottrell has contributed to several Harvard University Case Studies and has been a guest lecturer at Brandeis University.  He holds a B.A. from Wittenberg University and an MBA from F.W. Olin Graduate School at Babson College.

Mr. Cottrell’s civic involvement includes currently serving as a Director for the State of Maine Film Commission, a past Director with Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility, The Cape Elizabeth Educational Foundation and The Cape Elizabeth Little League.  Mr. Cottrell has also been an active volunteer with The American Cancer Society and The Maine Children’s Home for Little Wanderers.

jcottrell@clearsteadtrust.com 

Julie Webster earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from University of New England in Portland, Maine and has been working with trust and investment management clients over twenty years, most recently with Acadia Trust, N.A. in Portland. At Clearstead Trust, she is responsible for daily operations.

Ms. Webster enjoys travel and volunteering with Girl Scouts of Maine.

jwebster@clearsteadtrust.com 

JoEllen Clark earned a degree in Business Administration from the University of Maine and has been working with trust and investment management clients for over fifteen years, most recently with Acadia Trust, N.A. in Portland. At Clearstead Trust, she is responsible for daily operations.

Ms. Clark enjoys travel and is an accomplished professional photographer.

jclark@clearsteadtrust.com 

Karen Mangino has nine years’ experience in family office administration, compliance and regulatory functions.

She is treasurer of her local church and is also a member of The Maine Women’s Fund Finance Committee.

A native of Maine and an avid golfer, Ms. Mangino and her husband reside in Yarmouth.

kmangino@clearsteadtrust.com 

Kathleen joined Clearstead in January 2019, and as the Chief Financial Officer, is responsible for the firm’s accounting and financial reporting.

Her approach is to provide information in a positive and proactive manner.  She leverages her 15+ years of finance and project management experience in banking, consulting, manufacturing, and the legal industries to ensure a methodical and consistent approach is applied to the financial and process improvement initiatives.

Kathleen has BBA and MBA degrees from Ohio University as well as completing an Executive Program at Duke University. She holds certifications as a Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Business Manager (CBM) and a Certified Kaizen Facilitator (CKF); which are related to project management, finance, and accounting.  In 2018, Kathleen authored a chapter in a book on Innovation in Legal Project Management and also volunteers her time and serves on the Deepwood Foundation, Lake Health Foundation, and several other charitable 503© boards in Lake County.

Steve has worked in the wealth advisory industry since 1998 and was appointed Clearstead’s Chief Compliance Officer in 2011. Steve is responsible for ensuring Clearstead and its employees comply with the various laws and regulatory requirements that govern our profession and internal policies we have adopted. Steve is the chair of the Account Review Committee and Co-Chair of the Cyber Security Committee.

Prior to joining Clearstead in 2004, Steve worked for KeyCorp and Victory Capital, with a primary focus on the investment management process and analytics. Steve holds a MBA with concentrations in Finance and Economics from John Carroll University. He also received his BSBA in Finance from John Carroll University. He also holds the Investment Adviser Certified Compliance Professional® designation.