Vince graduated from Bradley University with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing. He joined Northwestern Mutual in 1991 and has been helping professionals, businesses, and families prepare for their financial future. As a partner of Spinosa Financial Group and Wealth Management Advisor, Vince draws on the resources of Northwestern Mutual to aid his clients in obtaining their financial goals including retirement and beyond.

Awards and Recognition

• National Sales Achievement Award (1998-2000, 2003, 2005-2013)
• Million Dollar Round Table Qualifying Member (1997, 1999-2006)
• Lifetime member MDRT (Million Dollar Round Table)
• National Quality Award (1995-1996, 2000-2013)
• Forbes Best-In-State Advisor (2022)

Vince resides in Downers Grove, Illinois with his wife Cherie, and two daughters. In his spare time, Vince enjoys golfing, dining out with friends, and traveling.

Robert graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. After seven years as an accountant and financial consultant, Robert started his business with Northwestern Mutual in 2001. Robert has devoted his career to strategic wealth management and financial planning focusing on building long-term relationships based on trust, knowledge, and commitment.

Awards and Recognition

• National Sales Achievement Award
• National Quality Award – National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA®)
• Lifetime and Qualifying Member - MDRT (Million Dollar Round Table)
• Retirement Income Certified Professional RICP®
• Chartered Financial Consultant ChFC®
• Chartered Life Underwriter CLU®

Associations and Memberships

• Board Member, United Neighborhood Organization
• Board Member, Latino Real Estate Investors Council
• Lake County Chamber of Commerce
• Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Robert lives in Vernon Hills with his wife, Laura and his 3 children. In his free time, he enjoys traveling with family, golfing and coaches travel baseball for CC Baseball.

Matt began his career as a college intern in 2007. He saw Northwestern Mutual as an opportunity to focus on helping others achieve their goals. After a successful internship, Matt decided to continue his career with Northwestern Mutual. Matt graduated from Illinois State University in 2008 with a degree in Marketing and Sales.

His passion for his career comes from helping others to create secure futures for themselves and for their families. His priority is to have a positive impact within his community and to be proud of his legacy as a Financial Advisor. Matt specializes in working with sales professionals, business owners, and families.

Awards and Recognition

• Qualifying Member-MDRT (Million Dollar Round Table): 2014
• National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors Quality Award: 2012-2014

Matt currently lives in Riverwoods with his wife, Kelly, two sons, and a daughter.  In his spare time, he likes to spend time with the family, travel, and play golf.

Sean can assist you with:

• investment transactions and questions
• investment analysis and financial planning
• insurance coverage questions

Sean has been at Northwestern Mutual since 2009.  He holds several FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) registrations including Series 7, 9, 10, 26 and 63.

Sean graduated from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University where he was a Business/ Finance major and a mathematics minor. He resides in Naperville with his wife, Sheila and their son and daughter.

Gary earned his MBA from Wharton School of Business at Penn.  He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) credential.  Gary has over 20 years of experience in Investment Banking and Asset Management at places such as Credit Suisse, Blackrock, and Epoch Investment Partners. 

Gary has been part of Spinosa Financial Group and Northwestern Mutual since December 2020.

In his spare time, he likes to work on abstract art and writes as a food blogger on the weekends.

Darren can assist you with:

• Developing and executing intricate financial plans
• Analyzing complex alternatives such as retirement distribution strategies, maximizing tax rates, and tax-efficient wealth management strategies

Darren joins Spinosa Financial Group after more than two and a half decades in the financial services industry. He was previously a chief operations officer with Spahn Financial at Northwestern Mutual. He holds his CFP® and RICP® designations.

Darren received his MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management. Darren currently lives in Northbrook with his wife, Amy and their two sons.

As a Financial Representative, James is uniquely experienced and positioned to help you with the following:

• Goals based financial planning
• Risk management
• Retirement planning
• Estate planning

James played golf in college while studying economics and languages in Scotland, graduating in 2002. James holds his Series 7, 63, 66, 26 licenses as well as Life and Health. James is passionate about ensuring people grasp their entire financial picture. With over 20 years in the industry, he specializes in customizing solutions that will provide insight and comfort to the most complex financial issues, helping clients achieve their financial goals with confidence and clarity.

James lives in Elmhurst with his wife, Carolyn, twin sons Oscar and Finley, and two French Bulldogs.

As our Director of Marketing and Business Operations, Liz can assist you with the following:

• scheduling appointments and calendar management (Spinosa and Marin)
• coordinating client education and appreciation events
• managing office operations
• coordinating networking opportunities

Liz has been with Northwestern Mutual since 2008. Her experience ranges from insurance servicing to marketing. She holds her life and health insurance licenses. She has two bachelor's degrees.  One from DePaul University in Communication and the other from Illinois State University in English Education.

She lives in Hoffman Estates with her husband Ryan, daughter, and lazy beagle. 

As our Director of Investment Operations, Izzy:

• assists in the opening of new investment accounts
• provides information and servicing on all investment accounts
• offers guidance through the client onboarding process

Izzy came to Northwestern Mutual in 2014 after her work in the mortgage industry as a mortgage facilitator and credit counselor. Izzy holds her FINRA Series 6, 63, and 7 licenses.

Izzy graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois, magna cum laude. She is married to Phil, has 4 children, and lives in Algonquin. Her hobbies include yoga and reading.

As our Director of Insurance Operations, Karen:

• assists in the establishment of new insurance policies
• provides information and servicing on all insurance policies
• offers guidance and support through the underwriting process
• assists in scheduling and maintaining Matt’s calendar

Karen has been with Northwestern Mutual since 2020 with experience in insurance, underwriting and client service. She holds her life and health licenses. She graduated from Northern Illinois University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and Argosy University with a master’s degree in counseling.

She is married and lives in the western suburbs of Chicago.

As our Financial Planning Associate, Vanessa assists with the following:

• providing information and servicing on investment accounts
• facilitating conversations between our planning team and wealth management advisors
• scheduling appointments and calendar management (Darren Kriston)

Vanessa joined Northwestern Mutual in Jan 2024. She is a Chicago born and raised financial professional with 10+ years of experience. She served in various roles in Banking & Wealth Management at JPM Chase, Mariner Wealth Advisors and Inland Securities. She holds Finra Series 7, 63, 6, SIE, life and health insurance licenses, CAMS (Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist) and Real Estate Broker License.

She lives in Streamwood with her husband Andy. They love to travel, to Greece in particular, which is where they were married.

Prit can help you with the following:

• establishing and servicing qualified plans for small business owners.

Prit grew up in a small town in North Dakota. He went to college at Loyola University-Chicago and currently lives in Lombard with his wife, Arpita, and his two sons.

Christian started her career with Northwestern Mutual in 2016 and joined Spinosa Financial Group in 2023. Christian obtained her state health and life, P&C, and Variable lines licenses as well as FINRA series 6, 63, 65, and 7 securities registrations. She also carries CFP® and RICP® designations. Christian specializes in complex financial plan design utilizing multiple tools to curate holistic plans enabling our clients to conquer goals, have confidence in their financial future, and mostly importantly, a true understanding of their finances.

Christian attended the University of Texas in Austin. She now lives in Fort Worth, TX with her family. In her spare time she enjoys yoga, cooking, reading books, and spending time with family and friends.