Associates

At The McTigue Financial Group, we're proud of the success our Financial Representatives have found and know that we would not be successful without them. We share their enthusiasm and drive, and are proud to foster an environment that allows our associates the opportunity to continue to grow.

Steven Braun

Financial Advisor

In 2006, Steve Braun celebrated 20 years of service with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network and The McTigue Financial Group. Steve joined the network office in 1986 and was awarded Representative of the Year for The McTigue Financial Group in 1993 and 2003.

Managing Partner, John McTigue offers these comments about Steve: "In an era when Financial Representatives come and go, Steve has shown amazing stability, because he learned early in his career that to succeed in this business he had to earn a client's trust, understand a client's needs, and put a client's interests first to design appropriate, individualized solutions. Nobody does that better than Steve."

Charlie Cunningham, CLU®

Financial Representative

After graduating from Denison University, with a BA in German and Political Science, Charlie Cunningham began his career as a consultant with Accenture. During his time with Accenture, Charlie worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies across the country.

Charlie realized that the consultant lifestyle would not allow him to spend the amount of quality time with his family he desired. This led him to make a career change to an occupation that would give him the balance between work and personal life that he desired. Charlie became a Financial Representative with The McTigue Financial Group in October of 2001 and has loved every moment since.

Michael D Aquila

Field Director

Michael D'Aquila began his career as an intern with The McTigue Financial Group while attending Loyola University in Chicago. Michael shares his thoughts regarding his experience with the internship program:

"As a junior Finance major, the technical experience was a big help. It´s one thing to read about finances in a textbook, but another to actually work with clients and their financial needs. The independent and entrepreneurial spirit the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network provided gave me the self-assurance to always work for myself. Learning what I have here, I will always be my own boss."

Toby Eng, CLU®, ChFC®

Field Director

Toby is originally from the Washington DC area and joined The McTigue Financial Group in 2001 after attending Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. In his years with the agency, he has served as a mentor, a member of LEAD and as a Field Director. He has qualified for Pacesetter 40, Million Dollar Round Table and has earned his CLU and ChFC. 

Toby’s purpose and desire is to have a great impact on his community. He believes that he can achieve that by continuing to recruit and develop new Financial Representatives.          

Toby currently resides in Chicago, Illinois with his wife Cassie, and his 3 daughters. Toby is active with his church and serves on the board of directors for the Wheaton College Alumni Association, as well as the Young Men’s Educational Network. In 2009, Toby was presented with The Northwestern Mutual Community Service award for the work he does with Lydia Home Association.    

Jerry Faigen

Financial Representative

Jerry Faigen has been a member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors since 1982. Based in Chicago, he has a national practice, currently licensed in thirty-five states.

A lifetime resident of the Chicago area, Jerry and his wife, Helene, reside in Northbrook. They have two beautiful grown daughters, Rachael and Erin, son-in-law, Leon, and three grandchildren, Devyn, Makenzie, and Hunter.

Daniel Gould

Wealth Management Advisor

Dan Gould, CLU, ChFC, CFP^® learned early in life the positive aspects of being self-employed. As a college student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, he operated a successful and growing coffee and cookie shop. It was his entrepreneurial spirit that set him on a fast-track career at The McTigue Financial Group.

No stranger to hard work, Dan has built a successful career by establishing and accomplishing strategic business goals. Since he started in 1991, Gould has attained numerous coveted career milestones for sales and service achievement.

Kurt Kidder, J.D., ChFC®, CFP®

Kurt Kidder, J.D., ChFC^®, CFP^® is one of the founding members of the Estate Strategies Group. He has been involved with estate and business planning since 1986.

Kurt provides expert advice to high net worth individuals, families and business owners in estate planning and business succession strategies. Kurt also assists both private and public companies in designing benefits for their highly compensated key executives.

Michael Mc Gill, CLU®, ChFC®

Financial Representative

A financial representative with The McTigue Financial Group since 1970, Mike McGill, CLU, ChFC has seen a lot of change in the industry over the years. He began his practice by calling attorneys listed in the Sullivan Law Review. Today his practice is focused on business owners, professionals, and top level executives.

Mike attributes good referrals and lots of networking at a higher level as the keys to his success. "I identify well with my clients and their interests. I am able to bring things to a close in an amicable way. I have followed the system that the Northwestern Mutual Financial network has put into place and it has worked for me."

Chad McQuade, J.D.

Field Director

Intrigued by the opportunity to work aside his brother Corey, Chad joined the Oak Brook District in October 2007. Chad became The McTigue Financial Group Rookie of the Year in 2008. As a Field Director, Chad is committed to the growth and productivity of the Oak Brook District. He has recruited three representatives including the 2009 The McTigue Financial Group Rookie of the Year, Ryan Wilt. Additionally, Chad runs sales builders, group mentoring and individual mentoring sessions.

Dexter Means, CLU®, CLTC

Financial Representative

Dexter Means, CLU^®, CLTC has been involved in the life insurance business since 1964 and specifically with Northwestern Mutual since 1979.  Dexter is committed to helping his clients identify their needs by taking the time to get to know them and their objectives.  Working together, Dexter helps clients create sound solutions to help them achieve financial security.

Gregg Neiman, CLU®, ChFC®

Financial Representative

Gregg Neiman became a Financial Representative in 1982. He previously worked in commercial real estate brokerage and condominium conversions. When commenting on his former career, Gregg says, "I was very good at transactional business deals, but not very good at getting paid."

As a Financial Representative, Gregg has provided expert assistance to highly compensated executives and business owners seeking to keep businesses and estates intact for future generations, retain key employees and transfer the risks of living too long, premature death or becoming unexpectedly disabled.

Gregg's sole objective with every client is to get the facts, apply extensive professional resources, practice the Golden Rule and tell the truth straight from the heart. In his own words, Gregg says, “I take great pride in leaving people better than I found them. Helping people to achieve financial security is a noble life's work.”

Kristina Panega

Financial Representative

Kristi Panega began her career at The McTigue Financial Group while attending DePaul University in Chicago.  Now, as a Financial Representative, Kristi is dedicated to her professional goal of positively impacting the lives of others in a way that will assist them in achieving financial security.  

She is also committed to developing potential in others and has embraced her role as a mentor with the internship program. Kristi utilizes her experiences to support College Representatives and help them navigate through the challenges of the financial services industry.

Ted Sangalis

Financial Advisor

If life experience is a good teacher, Ted Sangalis has a solid education. Prior to his career as a financial representative with the McTigue Financial Group, Ted started off in New York City and spent a total of six years in a sales capacity.

Ted was tired of corporate bureaucracy and of not being paid proportionate to one's value. He decided to venture into a career that paid him in direct proportion to his efforts. He transitioned to this career for a number of reasons, one of which was not that his father was a financial representative.

Ted explains why he chose the Network over other financial service companies: "In my mind what distinguishes Northwestern Mutual Financial Network is the quality of the products, the quality of the corporate office, and the quality of the financial representatives. We definitely deal with some of the best clientele and attract some of the best people for the career. Additionally, a job with the Network is not a job—it is a career."

Rajer Shah, CLU®, ChFC®

Financial Representative

Rajer Shah focuses on excelling at two key roles: serving his family as a husband and father, and serving his clients as a Financial Representative.

His passion is to inspire everyone around him, making a difference in people’s lives through his vision, integrity and knowledge.

Drawn to the career after college, Rajer has 20 years of experience with The McTigue Financial Group. Rajer and Kathy Shah, Associate Financial Representative, built their practice from the ground up, establishing long-term client relationships strictly on a referral basis. His client base is diverse ranging from small business owners to physicians, bankers and accountants.

Ben Voigt, CLU®, CFP®

Financial Advisor

Prior to joining Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, Ben Voigt, CLU, CFP® worked in consulting at Accenture. The path he saw was one of selling your soul to the company for the money. Ben wanted more control over his career and joined The McTigue Financial Group in 2001.

He offers his insights on the career: "I enjoy the variety in my day and the interaction with many different people."

"Keeping the vision of what you are trying to build in the face of adversity and rejection can be hard. It can be a challenge dealing with the ups and downs of client building. It can be a roller coaster. There are many highs and lows. I've learned that I have a lot more determination than I thought I ever had. "

Thomas Walder, CLU®, CLTC

Financial Representative

A veteran of the Vietnam War, Thomas Walder, CLU^®, CLTC spent four years in the Navy. Upon completion of his service, Tom worked as a sales representative before joining The McTigue Financial Group in 1973.

Tom stresses the importance of doing joint work, which he says provides new representatives with the opportunity to take on larger cases in addition to learning from experienced financial representatives.