About Us

Curtis Brown

President, and CEO

Curtis Brown is a visionary, strategic and outcome-focused C-suite leader, business consultant, and distinguished leadership coach. He leverages the value of more than 30 years in the financial services industry to unleash individual and organizational capabilities.

Curtis’ experience offers individuals and companies his deep expertise in turning around operations, developing teams, driving revenue growth, enhancing consumer capture/retention, and accelerating profitable sales and revenue. The firm offers a comprehensive suite of solutions for transformation in this new reality—where financial services leaders must harness the power of multicultural team dynamics for lasting change in an era of constant change.

 

As a high achiever, Curtis has built a professional legacy founded on trust and genuine care steering visions to fruition Curtis Brown’s rise to prominent executive leadership began with Merrill Lynch—a top tier investment management and wealth management company.  He was promoted to the Chief of Staff to the Chairman and President of Merrill Lynch during his remarkable career.

Many of Curtis’ strategies are discussed in his book Supernova Advisor Teams A Pathway to Excellence, which he co-authored with Rob Knapp.

Marsha Ellis Jones

Founding Partner, Tier 1 Level Consulting, LLC

Marsha Ellis Jones is a founding partner of Tier 1 Level Consulting, LLC (TLC), a consulting and executive coaching firm dedicated to equipping mid- to senior-level executives with the strategies and tools to navigate today’s ever-evolving business landscape.

Marsha retired as Executive Vice President of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., where she served for over a decade. During her tenure, she led the design and execution of enterprise-wide initiatives that supported innovation, employee engagement, and business growth. Her leadership excellence continues to make her a sought-after national speaker, panelist, and lecturer on topics including strategic leadership and organizational effectiveness.

Prior to PNC, Marsha was an Executive Vice President and Regional Director at Merrill Lynch. Over her distinguished three-decade career, she led transformational growth initiatives across multiple levels of the organization. Having begun her career as a financial advisor, she brings a unique perspective to both frontline client service and strategic business leadership. She has led and coached many financial advisor teams throughout her career, helping them achieve higher levels of performance and client impact. Her broad experience allows her to craft and implement strategies that improve performance, enhance productivity, and drive sustainable business success.

Her contributions have earned her widespread recognition, including:

– Savoy magazine’s “Top Influential Women in Corporate America”
– Black Enterprise magazine’s “Most Powerful Women in Corporate Diversity”
– “50 Women of Excellence” by the New Pittsburgh Courier
– “25 Influential Women in Business” by The Network Journal
– “Woman of Influence” by the Pittsburgh Business Times

Marsha currently serves as Chairperson of the National Board of the American Heart Association, where she also leads its Executive Committee and Business Solutions Committee. She is a member of the DiversityMBA Review Board and the Executive Committee of Impact 100 of Saint Lucie County. She is also Chair Emeritus of The Advanced Leadership Institute (TALI), which develops and supports executive-level leadership.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Lehman College, a master’s degree from Columbia University, and is a graduate of the Executive Leadership Development Program at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Marsha is a certified corporate director (NACD.DC) and a certified executive coach through the International Coaching Federation.

Cindy Beuoy

Chief Marketing Consultant and Administrator

Cindy Beuoy brings a fresh, strategic perspective to Tier 1 as Chief Marketing Consultant. A seasoned communications expert with a master’s degree in public relations and over 30 years of experience, Cindy’s background spans public relations, marketing, technology, and business management.

Her prior work includes co-developing and branding a financial services coaching program, where she created impactful tools to help financial advisors expand their practices. At Tier 1, Cindy is focused on partnering with the team to build a scalable, high-touch practice management model for financial advisors worldwide—enhancing workflow, boosting productivity, and delivering exceptional client service to a select group of clients.

A graduate of Butler University she resides in Indianapolis, Indiana with her husband. She can be reached at: cindy@skyblue-ant-920832.hostingersite.com

Robert T. Ross

Partner, Executive Vice President

Robert is a seasoned executive leader with expertise in both tactical and strategic execution. Over a four-decade career, he has excelled in operations, marketing, product development, sales, and sales management within the financial services industry. Known for his strong executive presence and public speaking skills, Robert has pioneered significant initiatives such as the integration of banking and credit with brokerage, the introduction of single manager accounts (SMAs), the collaboration with middle market business financial services and the accreditation of Private Wealth Advisors and client segmentation. Most of this work was done in an environment when Financial Advisors were focused on team formation and practice management. Allowing brokers to transform into planning based financial service providers.

Robert’s leadership style emphasizes listening, collaboration, and team building with mutual respect and integrity. At Merrill Lynch, he successfully transitioned regional operations, launched credit and cash management products for Financial Advisors, and held leadership roles at local, regional and national levels. At Wells Fargo, he led the repositioning of The Private Bank’s client segmentation, managing through multiple restructurings to drive organizational success.

With a strong foundation in risk management and compliance, Robert is widely recognized for disciplined execution and his passion for professional and personal development. Through the years Robert has mastered change management, bringing his teams through challenging transitions. Whether it was geo-political events, market turbulence or new technology, he has grown through it all.

His community work includes leadership roles with nonprofit boards like All Stars Project and the Urban League, as well as executive champion roles at Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo foundations. A graduate of Morehouse College and the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School SIFMA program, Robert is deeply committed to making a positive impact, personally and professionally.