Our People
John D. Williams*, Founder & Chief Executive Officer
John is a thirty year veteran of the financial services industry. He is one of the original co-founders of CFG. He holds ChFC® and CLU® designations from The American College, a master’s degree in Theological Studies from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology and a bachelor’s degree from Creighton University. He is a member of the Boston Estate Planning Council and The American Society of Financial Service Professionals. John and his wife Mary Ann have two grown children, Jonathan and Anna. He is active in town government, serving as a Selectman in his hometown of Carlisle, MA. Avocations include running and classical guitar.
James D. Lee, Chief Operations Officer & Chief Compliance Officer
James joined CFG in 1996 and has provided comprehensive financial and estate plans for high net worth clients in his former role as Director of Planning. He continues to handle the ‘core’ of CFG’s clients’ financial/estate plans in coordination with other members of the planning department as well as CFG’s portfolio managers. In addition, he oversees the daily operations, execution and administration of complete client services. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Nevada and is currently a candidate for the Certified Financial Planner designation. James enjoys all outdoor sports to include, hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, snowboarding and rock climbing. He lives in Newton with his wife, Anne, and daughter Cai Lin.
Jason Morad, J.D., Chief Investment Officer
Jason joined CFG after spending nine years in the financial industry, including serving the last seven as Portfolio Manager and Manager of Equity Research for Hale and Dorr Capital Management, LLC. While at Hale and Dorr he was the sub-advisor for a portion of CFG’s assets. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from Vanderbilt University, a Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University, and is a Level III candidate in the Chartered Financial Analyst program. Jason is a Series 65 Registered Investment Advisor. He is an avid surfer and snowboarder and recently has entered the sport of triathlon with no fatal consequences.
Marcel Quiroga*, Chief Relationship Officer & Director of Marketing
Marcel brings over 16 years of financial services and wealth management experience to Capital Formation Group. She helps people secure a lifetime of financial independence, manage their financial affairs, build their legacies and maximize their philanthropic potential. She focuses on the needs and aspirations of senior executives and entrepreneurs. Working closely with clients, she helps them identify their objectives, and leads the process in the design of their customized financial plans that will help them reach their goals.
Marcel has over 16 years of financial services and wealth management experience. Her past roles include working at FUNDES-Bolivia, Fondo de la Comunidad, and Banco Mercantil in Latin America. She has also held key positions at the Individual Investment Group of Morgan Stanley, and at the Private Banking and Investment Group of Merrill Lynch.
Marcel is on the Board of Trustees of Salem State University. She also serves on the National Board of Directors of ALPFA, the premier business organization for Latino leadership, and she is Chairwoman of the National Corporate Advisory Board of the Women of ALPFA. Marcel is a member of the Boston Club and Immediate Past-Chair of the Women of the Harvard Club Committee. She participates actively on the US Fund for UNICEF Women’s Luncheons Committee, and she chairs the Bolivian Communal Banking Project for the US Fund for UNICEF. Marcel is on the Latino Council of “Milagros Para Niños” of Children’s Hospital Trust. She is the proud mother of two children. Marcel enjoys reading, writing, and the outdoors.
John E. Riggs IV, Relationship Manager
John joined CFG after spending thirteen years in the financial industry, including serving the last five and a half in Client Relations at U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management servicing high net worth individuals and families. While at U.S Trust he built his experience on both the fiduciary trust and investment sides of the business. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from Babson College and is currently pursuing his designation as a Certified Financial Planner. John is an avid golfer and looking forward to getting his son on skiis so that he can get back into the sport himself. John lives in Wakefield, MA with his wife and son.
Nate Armitage, Investments
Prior to joining CFG, Nate spent six years in the institutional and hedge fund trading business. He was a Trader at Pzena Investment Management in New York City and Head Trader at Seacross Global Advisors in Boston. With experience in trading both domestic and international equities, futures and currencies, he brings to CFG a solid working knowledge of the global marketplace. Along with Jason, Nate constructs and implements investment portfolios for our clients. In addition, he coordinates the investment strategies for financial and estate plans with James and Tyson. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY and is an active supporter of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America. Nate is an all-season outdoors enthusiast and enjoys everything from snowshoeing and kayaking to hiking and distance running. He lives with his wife, Kelly, and daughter, Lilah.
Tyson Pettitt, Financial & Estate Planning
Tyson joined CFG after spending two years as an advisor with the Boston Partners Financial Group in Andover, MA. While at Boston Partners he was responsible for developing and implementing specific insurance plans as well as comprehensive overall financial plans for their clientele. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of New Hampshire and is currently pursuing his Certified Financial Planner designation. A New Hampshire native, Tyson is an avid snowboarder; however while he is in Boston he focuses on playing squash and trying to get out on his road bike as much as possible.
Leslie Martinez, Executive Administrator
Leslie moved from Puerto Rico and joined CFG after an extensive career in the surety insurance industry. Prior to that, she was the Executive Assistant to a partner at one of the largest law firms in Puerto Rico. She graduated Cum Laude from Aquinas College, Milton, MA where she earned an Associate’s Degree in Science with a concentration in business law. She was recently certified as a paralegal. Leslie is fluent in Spanish and English and understands French and Italian.
Thomas Auchincloss, Investment Committee Member
Tom is a private investor. From 2002 to 2007, he served as an executive in various capacities for Metabolix, Inc., a biotechnology company commercializing renewable, biodegradable plastics produced from sugar as an alternative to petroleum based plastics. As Chief Financial Officer of Metabolix, he raised venture capital and led the company’s initial public offering in 2006. Prior to Metabolix, Mr. Auchincloss was Vice President of Finance and Treasurer of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company commercializing novel pharmaceuticals for the treatment of HIV infection, Hepatitis C and other diseases. While at Vertex, Mr. Auchincloss was responsible for strategic and financial planning, fund raising, project management and business development. During his tenure, the firm raised over $800 million in capital and closed major collaborations with Novartis and Ely Lilly. Prior to Vertex, Mr. Auchincloss served as an Associate Director of the investment banking department at Bear Stearns. He has an MBA degree from the Wharton School and a BS degree from Babson College.
Michael Herzig, Investment Committee Member
Michael is the General Partner of Gardenia Global Advisors L.P. His investment strategy derives from a twenty-year Wall Street career, comprised of sixteen years in institutional sales and equity product management at Merrill Lynch, and as an original member of Rosehill Capital Management LLC, a long/short strategy operating within the Japanese equity market. The vast majority of his experience has been in challenging market conditions, as a Japan specialist between ‘89 and ‘97, as a London-based Emerging Markets specialist and desk head from ‘97 to ‘00, and as the first Head of Global Sector Sales at ML from ‘00 through ‘04. During Michael’s last three years at ML, through ‘06, he served on the Research Recommendations Committee, responsible for monitoring and coaching the equity research team, and produced and moderated the Merrill Lynch Daily Morning Research Call for an audience of approximately 4000 Institutional and Retail representatives.
Michael holds a B.A in English from Dartmouth College and earned the CFA designation in 1999. He also serves as Treasurer and Member of the Board of Directors of Birch Rock Camp, a non-profit summer camp based in Waterford, Maine. He is a native resident of New York and is married with three children.
Thomas F. Troy, Shareholder
Thomas’ experience lies within the institutional equities business at Merrill Lynch. He was most recently Senior Vice President and Head of the Global Securities and Prime Brokerage Division and was also Head of Equities for the Americas (based in New York) and for Europe, Middle East and Africa (based in London). In both positions he was responsible for all secondary and primary sales, trading and capital markets across all cash and derivative products in the respective regions. He managed all capital commitments, risk management and client relationships. Thomas holds a BA from the College of the Holy Cross and an MBA from New York University.
Michael Toomey, Retired Shareholder
Mr. Toomey is a thirty-year veteran of the financial services industry and a co-founder of Capital Formation Group, Inc. Mr. Toomey retired from CFG in 2009 and lives in Framingham, MA. with his wife , Joyce.
