VANDERBILT FINANCIAL GROUP

Steve Distante

Chairman and Founder

Theresa Deady

Chief Relationship Officer

Heidi Distante

Chief Executive Officer

Leadership

Steve Distante is an entrepreneur, author, filmmaker, and farmer, and the chairman and founder of Vanderbilt Financial Group. Under his leadership, Vanderbilt has become a pioneer in socially and environmentally responsible investing, guided by the firm’s GRITT values – gratitude, respect, innovation, teamwork, and trustworthiness. Distante is also the creator of Impact U, an educational platform for entrepreneurs, and the author of the Amazon bestselling book Pitchology: The Art and Science of Raising Capital for Entrepreneurs, followed by Once Upon a Time in Entrepreneurland. A former president of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization New York City chapter, Distante serves as a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Sustainable Development Goals and hosts entrepreneurial retreats at Cally Farms.

Chairman and Founder

Steve Distante

Theresa Deady is chief relationship officer at Vanderbilt Financial Group, where she focuses on strengthening advisor relationships and enhancing the overall advisor experience. She works closely with financial professionals across the network to ensure they have the support, resources, and connections needed to grow their practices. Her leadership emphasizes communication, trust, and long-term partnership. By helping advisors navigate opportunities within Vanderbilt’s platform, Deady plays a key role in maintaining the firm’s collaborative culture. Her relationship-focused approach reinforces Vanderbilt’s commitment to supporting advisors not just as partners, but as an integral part of the firm’s community.

Chief Relationship Officer

Theresa Deady

Heidi Distante is CEO of Vanderbilt Financial Group, where she leads the firm’s strategic vision and day-to-day operations. A longtime advocate for purpose-driven leadership, Heidi has helped shape Vanderbilt’s distinctive culture centered on GRITT – gratitude, respect, innovation, teamwork, and trustworthiness. She works closely with advisors and leadership to expand the firm’s national network while preserving its collaborative and entrepreneurial environment. Distante is also co-founder of Cally Farms in Georgia, where she and her husband Steve host entrepreneurial retreats and leadership experiences. Her leadership reflects a commitment to innovation, impact, and building businesses that create value for advisors, clients, and communities.

Chief Executive Officer

Heidi Distante

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Joseph Trifiletti

President

Joseph Trifiletti is president of Vanderbilt Financial Group, where he oversees the firm’s operations and strategic growth initiatives. Since joining Vanderbilt in 2006, he has held multiple leadership roles across operations and management, helping guide the company through significant expansion. Known for his operational expertise and collaborative leadership style, he works closely with the executive team to support advisors and strengthen the firm’s national platform. Trifiletti plays a key role in translating Vanderbilt’s entrepreneurial culture and GRITT values into scalable systems that support long-term growth. His leadership focuses on efficiency, innovation, and delivering a high-level experience for advisors and their clients.

President

Joseph Trifiletti

Steve Howe

Director of Business Development

Steve Howe is director of business development at Vanderbilt Financial Group, where he leads initiatives to expand the firm’s advisor network across the United States. With extensive experience in the financial services industry, he focuses on building relationships with independent advisors seeking a collaborative and entrepreneurial platform. Howe works closely with prospective partners to introduce them to Vanderbilt’s culture, technology, and growth opportunities. Known for his strategic mindset and relationship-driven approach, Howe plays a key role in attracting advisors who align with the firm’s values. His efforts help strengthen Vanderbilt’s national presence and support its continued expansion.

Director of Business Development

Steve Howe

Vanderbilt Financial Group is a nationally recognized independent broker-dealer and Registered Investment Advisor platform headquartered in Woodbury, NY. With a network of advisors serving clients across the United States, the firm provides a comprehensive platform that empowers financial professionals with advanced technology, operational support, and flexible business solutions designed to help them grow their practices while delivering exceptional service to their clients. Founded more than 50 years ago to manage family wealth and later reimagined under the leadership of chairman Steve Distante, Vanderbilt Financial Group has evolved into a forward-thinking firm focused on innovation, collaboration, and impact. The company is known for placing advisors at the center of its business model, offering a personalized experience that combines world-class resources with the close-knit feel of a family office. Vanderbilt Financial Group’s culture emphasizes integrity, teamwork, and ingenuity – values captured in its GRITT philosophy. The firm is also widely recognized for its leadership in sustainable and impact investing, providing advisors and their clients access to socially and environmentally responsible investment opportunities. By combining innovative financial solutions with a strong commitment to community and sustainability, Vanderbilt Financial Group continues to redefine what it means to build wealth with purpose, helping advisors and clients create meaningful financial futures.

“Monarch E&S has the products, talent, expertise, and reputation to get deals done with our strategic partners and clients, which is essentially table stakes”

Yiana Stavrakis, Monarch E&S Insurance Services

Megan Plapp

Chief Financial Officer

Michelle Thomas

Chief Compliance Officer

Daniel Antenor Jr.

Chief Happiness Officer

Simon Williams

Chief Strategy & Distribution Officer, Arch Insurance International and Active Underwriter, Syndicate 1955

Megan Plapp is CFO of Vanderbilt Financial Group, where she leads the firm’s financial strategy, planning, and reporting. With a strong background in financial management and regulatory oversight, she plays a critical role in ensuring the firm’s operational strength and long-term sustainability. She works closely with executive leadership to guide financial decision-making and support Vanderbilt’s continued growth. Plapp is known for her analytical approach and commitment to transparency and accountability. Through her leadership, she helps ensure Vanderbilt maintains the financial discipline necessary to support advisors, clients, and innovative initiatives across the firm’s expanding national platform.

Chief Financial Officer

Megan Plapp

Michelle Thomas is chief compliance officer at Vanderbilt Financial Group, where she leads the firm’s regulatory and compliance programs. With deep expertise in financial industry regulations, she ensures Vanderbilt maintains the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability. She works closely with advisors and leadership to implement policies that protect clients while supporting responsible business growth. Thomas’s leadership helps navigate an evolving regulatory landscape while reinforcing the firm’s commitment to ethical practices. Through her guidance, Vanderbilt continues to operate with a strong compliance foundation, allowing advisors to serve clients confidently within a well-structured and trusted framework.

Chief Compliance Officer

Michelle Thomas

Daniel Antenor Jr. serves as chief happiness officer at Vanderbilt Financial Group, where he focuses on strengthening the firm’s culture and employee experience. In this unique leadership role, he works across teams to support engagement, collaboration, and professional growth. He plays an important part in cultivating Vanderbilt’s GRITT culture — gratitude, respect, innovation, teamwork, and trustworthiness — ensuring it is reflected in everyday interactions throughout the organization. Antenor’s work centers on building an environment where people feel valued, connected, and inspired to perform at their best. His leadership helps reinforce Vanderbilt’s belief that strong culture is the foundation of long-term success.

Chief Happiness Officer

Daniel Antenor Jr.

Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.

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Kimi Shah

Partner

Kimi Shah

Partner

Kimi Shah

maintaining an in-house team of more than 20 programmers to facilitate fast improvements direct bill options to streamline the payment process for the agent and the insured providing IVANS policy downloads that enable up to 30 percent labor savings to independent agencies delivering online capabilities including rating, policy documents, payments, and claims reporting

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“We will continue to strengthen our service proposition and customer experience as a key differentiator, as we build on the momentum we have achieved to date across multiple business lines and territories,” says McLean. “Our im is to continue to grow our market relevance and strengthen our partnerships with our strategic brokers as we expand our leadership position in key sectors. “We will also continue to invest in talent. We are committed to drawing from the broadest pools of talent, and to creating an environment that attracts and retains stellar employees. We recognise the importance of building teams that are diverse, collaborative, and innovative and are dedicated to cultivating a supportive and inclusive workplace culture in which all our employees can thrive.”

Monarch’s sister company, Capitol Special Risks, is now part of the Monarch umbrella to provide retail broker customers with expertise and markets in the professional, management, and cyber liability space. “I am very proud of our young and dynamic leadership team,” says Derek Borisoff, chief executive officer of Monarch E&S. “Stefanie McLeod, vice president of personal lines, and Devon Borisoff, vice president of commercial lines, are led by Yiana Stavrakis, our very capable president. All three are known standouts in our industry who lead by example in both work ethic and desire to solve problems. Our firm’s outstanding performance is a result of their positive communications with our people, superb carrier relationships, and proactive management style.” As a full-service MGA and wholesale brokerage, Monarch gives retail insurance brokers access to many different lines of business through its commercial lines, personal lines, professional lines, transportation, mining/energy, CAT property, earthquake, and flood departments. “Monarch E&S has the products, talent, expertise, and reputation to get deals done with our strategic partners and clients, which is essentially table stakes,” says Yiana Stavrakis, president at Monarch E&S. “How do we go above and beyond? We aim to work on every deal, regardless of size, as if it were our personal account and provide our retail brokers with problem-solving competencies to handle hard-to-place risks. Most competitors do not provide the same level of service for smaller brokers and risks as they do for larger ones. Monarch thrives when it comes to providing solutions for small to mid-market risks.”

relationships and teamwork embracing and driving change holding teammates accountable pursuing excellence with humility giving back to the community

Furthermore, talent acquisition and retention pose a significant challenge and are at the forefront of most business leaders’ minds during this unique time. The insurance industry has been aware for years of a looming talent shortage caused by the Baby Boomer generation’s retirement and is now experiencing a war for talent. “Monarch has been able to overcome this talent acquisition challenge by staying true to who we are, a family environment with national resources, which is something we will continue to encourage and promote,” says Stavrakis. “When working for a team like ours, you are not another cog in the wheel but have the opportunity to make your mark and grow with us as we build out Monarch 2.0.” Monarch E&S Insurance Services is licensed in every state and is continuously finding ways to enhance its team, client, and carrier partner experiences. Get ready for the royal treatment as Monarch 2.0 expands digitally.

“I am very proud of our young and dynamic leadership team. Our firm’s outstanding performance is a result of their positive communications with our people, superb carrier relationships, and proactive management style”

Derek Borisoff, Monarch E&S Insurance Services

Yiana Stavrakis, Monarch E&S Insurance Services