Just like every NCS chapter needs a strong core leadership team to model NCS friendship for, and support and encourage, its members, NCS has a core team of leaders, advisors, staff and key volunteers who try to model NCS leadership for, and support and encourage, the NCS chapter leaders and who support NCS. It is a pretty small team, but it is a group committed to serving marketplace men by furthering the NCS mission and purpose.
Staff
Liz Weed
Liz provides support for NCS Executive Partner, James Anderson, chapters and the National office. She has worked for NCS since August 2010.
Liz graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Restaurant and Resort management. She worked with Marriott International for 5 years and then switched gears to work in higher education for 3 years. She worked for Grand Canyon University and a higher education consulting group.
Board of Directors
Bill McClain
Bill McClain is Executive Director of Guiding Institute for Developmental Education (GIDE) and owner of Mr. Bill’s Production Company, but he is more commonly known simply as “The Coach,” having earned the title coaching at 3 high schools, Greensboro College, Shaw University, Wake Forest University, and in the AAU. He views coaching as a platform to teach kids Christian concepts that are life skills, such as discipline, obedience, and fellowship.
Seven years after walking into his first NCS meeting, Bill is still coming back. He loves the brothers of NCS because he thinks they are legitimately seeking God’s favor. Bill is married to Joanette and have five children and 14 grandchildren.
Bob Doll
Bob has worked in the asset management industry for over 40 years serving most recently as chief equity strategist and senior portfolio manager at Nuveen. He held similar positions at BlackRock, Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (where he served as President and Chief Investment Officer), and OppenheimerFunds. Bob appears frequently on financial television discussing economic developments and markets.
Bob is both a chartered financial analyst and a certified public accountant and earned a BS and a BA from Lehigh University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Bob and his wife Leslie live in Princeton, New Jersey and have three children. He is also choir director at his local church and serves on ten boards including Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Cairn University, Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, Kingdom Advisors, Lausanne Movement, National Christian Foundation, New Canaan Society, Movement.org, Princeton Healthcare System and Word of Life Fellowship.
Britt Harris
Britt Harris has more than 30 years of investment experience leading several of the largest, most successful, and most innovative investment organizations in America. In addition, Mr. Harris is currently a member of the President’s Working Group for Financial Markets and an advisor to the New York Federal Reserve. He is one of only a few people who have worked extensively in both the private and public sectors.
Mr. Harris is currently the President, CEO and CIO at the University of Texas/Texas A&M University Investment Management Company (UTIMCO) which is the largest public endowment in America. Prior to his arrival at UTIMCO, he was the CIO for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), the CEO for Bridgewater Associates and was also the CIO and President for Verizon Investment Management Corporation. Previously Mr. Harris was a managing director for Asea Brown Boveri in Europe. Mr. Harris got his start in his home state of Texas. He has three times been named one of America’s leading pension plan investment chiefs. Mr. Harris has been consistently named one of the top five asset investors in the world. In 2013 he was honored with a lifetime achievement for distinguished service to the financial industry.
Mr. Harris also serves as an executive professor for “Titans of Investing” at his alma mater Texas A&M University. He has also guest lectured on investments and public policy at Harvard, Princeton, Yale and The University of Texas. In addition, he is a frequent speaker on various spiritual matters and serves on a variety of public and private boards.
Mr. Harris has been married for more than 35 years to his high school sweetheart. He and his wife Julia have four children and live in Austin, Texas.
Chip Roper
Dr. Chip made his way to NCS Manhattan in the Spring of 2014. He has found deep community and an opportunity to serve over the last 8 years as part of the leadership team. Chip speaks at other NCS Chapters around the country, assists in the training of new chapter leaders, and recently joined the NCS National Board.
He is the Founder and President of the VOCA Center. VOCA delivers “Chrisitan therapy for people’s careers” by delivering resources that equip Christ-followers to approach their daily work with God’s wisdom and power.
Chip is also the managing partner of RKE Parnters, a training consultancy that delivers executive development that transforms leaders and positively impacts the bottom line.
With an Executive Coaching Certification from Columbia University and a Doctorate of Ministry from Missio Seminary, Chip tackles client challenges from 30+ years of P/L leadership responsibility as a small businessman, a pastor, a career coach, and a business consultant. Chip's clients are found at Blackstone, Sunrise Brokers, JP Morgan, Randall-Reilly, Goldman Sachs, Neilson, Knopman Marks, and CNBC.
Ed LeMasters
Ed has been in the financial services industry for 35 years. In 2010, Ed obtained the title of Wealth Advisor. Also in 2010, Ed attained his Portfolio Manager title through UBS's Portfolio Management Program. In order to maintain his numerous licenses, he attends a minimum of 35 hours of continuing education classes per year.
Ed spent four years as a Trust Officer with one of the nation's largest banks before joining forces with Mitch in 1993. Ed has extensive training in estate planning and wealth management. His team manages a diversified base of clients that varies from wealthy families to institutions, foundations, private schools, associations, and corporations in Central Florida.
Ed was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Florida State University in their honors program, and graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in Business. Ed has been married for 27 years to Janet and they have one child, Clay, who is 25. Ed enjoys competitive tennis and scuba diving with Janet and Clay. Ed has been a longtime leader and member of the NCS Orlando Chapter
Ed Russell
Edward J. Russell, III has been involved in the construction and real estate development field for over thirty-five years. In 1994 he was chosen to serve as the third generation Managing Partner of Russell Development Company (RDC), based in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. RDC is actively involved in both commercial real estate (office and retail), and the ultra-luxury residential sector.
Russell Development’s commercial business focuses on the construction, management, and acquisition of retail strip centers in southeast Michigan anchored by such tenants as Wal Mart, CVS Drugs, O’Reilly Auto Parts and FedEx Office. The office portfolio tenants include Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Oppenheimer & Co., The Ralph C. Wilson Foundation, The Private Bank, Chemical Bank and Northern Trust Bank.
After studying finance at Western Michigan University, Mr. Russell joined the family business and served in a variety of capacities in the areas of job cost and budget analysis, tenant lease structuring and negotiation, and was responsible for maintaining and creating tenant relationships and identifying development opportunities for the company.
Mr. Russell has served on numerous Boards, both public “for profit” and civic. Ed resides in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan with his wife Marcia, and is the father of three grown daughters.
Eric Lewis
Eric Lewis is a trader and entrepreneur in Houston who focuses on financial markets and digital marketing. Eric is also the host of The Weekly Option, a podcast recorded each week about option trading that started in 2018.
Eric currently works with a cryptocurrency trading start-up and helps companies improve their marketing results online. He worked in the energy business for 11 years, mostly in trading petroleum products and renewable fuels. Prior to the energy business, he worked nearly 5 years as an option trader market-maker at the Chicago Board Options Exchange.
Eric received a BA in economics from the University of Texas at Austin in 1999. He also earned his MBA in analytical finance from the University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business in 2007.
Hal Rosser
Harold (Hal) O. Rosser is a Managing Partner of Rosser Capital Partners Management, LP, a Greenwich, CT based private investment firm he founded in 2011. Previously, he spent 15 years as founder and Managing Director of Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co., Inc., a New York based mid-market private equity firm, established in 1995 and before that, 20 years at Citibank/Citicorp/ Citicorp Venture Capital. Hal earned his BS from Clarkson University and attended Management Development Programs at Carnegie-Mellon University and the Stanford University Business School.
Hal is currently a director/trustee of Brio Bravo Restaurant Group, Barteca Holdings, the Culinary Institute of America, and Wake Forest University.
Hal and his wife Rita live in Naples, FL and New Canaan, CT. Hal co-founded the Naples NCS chapter in 2006.
James Sanislow
James Sanislow lives in Sugar Land, Texas, where he and his wife (Laura) and their four children relocated from Connecticut in 2009. James is an attorney with Noble Drilling Services Inc. (a global offshore drilling contractor) where he serves as Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer, responsible for the company’s compliance program along with Internal Audit, Operational and Environmental Assurance, and Enterprise Risk Management. James also serves as the Chairman of the Compliance & Ethics Committee for the International Association of Drilling Contractors, and serves on the board of Massachusetts Maritime Academy Foundation.
Prior to joining Noble, James served in various legal and compliance capacities with Chemtura Corporation and Moran Towing Corporation in Connecticut, after having been in private practice in New York City with the admiralty firm Clark, Atcheson & Reisert. James earned a Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation from Massachusetts Maritime Academy and was licensed as a Third Officer – Unlimited Oceans, by the U.S. Coast Guard, and subsequently sailed with Liberty Maritime and Apex Marine. James also served for 10-years in the U.S. Navy Reserves. James earned a Juris Doctor from Western Michigan University – Cooley Law School and is a member of the bar in good standing in Texas and New York, and is admitted to practice in several U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second and Third Circuits, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Jay Helvey
Jay joined Cassia Capital Partners LLC as the founding Managing Partner in 2011 after a successful career at CMT Asset Management, Ltd., an international asset management firm with offices in Chicago, London, and Hong Kong, which he helped establish in 2005. As principal partner, he was responsible for Risk Management and Portfolio Construction which included allocating to hedge funds.
Mr. Helvey is recognized as a leader in financial risk management with extensive experience in trading cash, futures, and derivatives instruments, as well as 12 years of experience overseeing large investment portfolios. As a Managing Director at J.P. Morgan, Jay served as the Vice Chairman of J.P. Morgan’s Risk Committee and Global Head of Derivative Counterparty and Hedge Fund Risk Management.
Jay earned a master’s degree in International Affairs, Banking and Finance in 1984 from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University in New York, where he was an International Fellow. He also attended the University of Cologne, West Germany in 1982 as a Fulbright Scholar. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wake Forest University where he earned a double-major in Political Science and German in 1981. He graduated Magna Cum Laude, with Honors, and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.
Jay serves on the Coca Cola Consolidated Bottling Co. (COKE), Computer Task Group (CTG), and Piedmont Federal Savings Bank Board of Directors. In addition, Jay served on the Pike Electric Board (PIKE) from 2005 – 2014. Jay also served as a Wake Forest University trustee from 1997 – 2017 and as a Wake Forest Medical Center Director from 2015 – 2017. In addition to his corporate board roles, Jay serves on the investment committees of Verger Capital Management, the Wake Forest University Health Sciences, and the Winston Salem Foundation.
Jay co-founded the Winston-Salem, N.C. chapter of the New Canaan Society, a Christian men’s fellowship organization. Married for 30 years, Jay and his wife have five children.
Jeff Fortier
Joining in 2000, Jeff is a partner and is the Managing Director of Private Capital Management (“PCM”) based in Naples, Florida. PCM is a boutique investment firm that has traditionally focused its research attention on undervalued small-cap and other special situation equity investments.
Today, PCM manages $650 million for about 100 investors across two equity strategies and three hedged equity partnerships. PCM is highly regarded for its long-term track record in the small-cap domain, as well as the firm’s periodic shareholder activism efforts.
In 2016, a longstanding client of the firm invited Jeff to a breakfast where he was introduced to the men of the New Canaan Society. Since 2017 Jeff has been a proud member of the NCS Naples chapter and found that the men of NCS have become close friends, trusted advisors and generous mentors.
Born and raised in Haddam, Connecticut, Jeff and his wife, Caitlin have been married since 1998. They are the proud parents of three: Julia (18), John Patrick (16) and Casey (10). Jeff and Caitlin met while in college at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, where Jeff earned his B.S. in Finance and graduated in 1997.
Michael Tremain
Michael Tremain is a Partner at Sovereign’s Capital where he concentrates on investment sourcing and portfolio management with a focus on lower middle market opportunities.
Michael’s career includes stints with TrinRock Capital, Andersen Consulting, the Walt Disney Company, Hard Rock Cafe International and he has led a number of privately held companies in the technology, wholesale distribution, oil & gas, healthcare, residential construction and commercial services sectors.
Michael earned his BS in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his MS in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics.
Michael and his wife, Kristin, and four children live in Lookout Mountain, Georgia.
Mike Timmis
Mike Timmis was born in Detroit, Michigan, where he has had a distinguished career as both an attorney and businessman. He earned his undergraduate degree from Wayne State University and graduated with highest honors from the Wayne State Law School in 1965. Mike has received honory doctorate degrees from University of Detroit Mercy and Ave Maria University.
Mike serves as chairman of Prison Fellowship International, comprised of 120 chartered countries, and Prison Fellowship Ministries (USA). He also presently serves on the board of Alpha International and is a past member of the board of Promise Keepers and The Navigators.
Mike is a Roman Catholic and a member of St. Paul Catholic Church, Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. He is also a founding member of the National Fellowship of Catholic Men and most recently, one of our newest chapters – NCS Grosse Pointe.
He and his wife, Nancy, minister to the poor in the Third World and have developed self-help projects in Africa and Central and South America. They are also very active in addressing the educational needs of children in Detroit. Mike and his wife are in the Order of Malta.
The Timmises, who have been married for forty-eight years, reside in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, and Naples, Florida. They are parents of two and grandparents of five.
Sami Asaad
Born in Cairo, Egypt, Sami came to the U.S. as a young boy and spent most of his childhood in New Jersey. He experienced profound brokenness in his home and in his soul which led to feelings of alienation and “identitylessness”. Though he came to know Christ as savior at age 10, it would take several more years before he would come to know Him as Lord, Redeemer, and Friend. Along the way, he struggled against shackles of fear, sin, guilt, and shame.
When freedom came, it was largely the result of a few godly men who not only shared God’s word with Sami but also shared their lives and opened their hearts. The vulnerability and transparency of these men served as a powerful catalyst for lasting change in Sami’s life. Many of those men were men he met through the New Canaan Society.
As a result of the remarkable transformation that he experienced, Sami is passionate about helping brothers in Christ experience similar transformation through faith, freedom, forgiveness, friendship, and fun! Sami is currently President of NCS Hartford, and he enjoys time every week with his “covenant group” of 6 other brothers.
Sami currently works as a Partner at FordHarrison, LLP (a national, employer-side labor and employment law firm). He earned a bachelor’s degree from Ramapo College, and a law degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law. He is admitted to practice law in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. Sami lives in Hamden, CT with his wife, Jessica, and their 5 children. In addition to spending time with his family (both biological and spiritual), Sami loves being outdoors in nature, listening to early music, studying the Bible, and reading/listening to good books.
Stu Epperson Sr.
Stuart W. Epperson is Chairman of the board of Salem Media Group, the leading U.S. radio broadcaster, Internet content provider and magazine publisher targeting audiences interested in Christian and family-themed content and traditional values programming with over 100 radio stations including 67 stations in all of the top 25 markets. Salem also operates SRN News which has over 2,400 Affiliates. Salem became a publicly traded company in 1999 and is listed on NASDAQ. Stuart has served as Chairman since founding the company in the 1980’s with brother-in-law, Edward Atsinger. Epperson holds a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in radio and television broadcasting from Bob Jones University. He has been involved in broadcasting since the early 1940’s and has worked in all areas of broadcasting including a disc jockey. He built his first radio station in 1961 in Roanoke, VA, and soon after, he built WKBX, Winston-Salem, and WRBX, Chapel Hill. He was inducted into the North Carolina Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2015. In 2005, Stu was named by Time Magazine one of The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America. In 2004, Stu was honored as the American Free Enterprise Medalist, by Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, FL. He was the Republican nominee for U.S. Congress 1984 and 1986 for the North Carolina 5th District
He is deeply involved in helping at risk kids and the homeless in Winston-Salem, NC; Jacksonville, FL and in other cities. He is a founder of the Winston-Salem Rescue Mission, Salem Pregnancy Support Center, One Kid At A Time, a mentoring program and the Christian Association of Youth Mentoring, a national effort to find mentors for at risk kids. Stu is the founder of Kidz Xtreme, an intercity Christian Youth Program focusing on Section 8 Housing. He has celebrated 56 years of marriage to Nancy Atsinger Epperson, who has been a Professor of Speech at Piedmont International University for over 50 years. They have 4 children and 21 grandchildren. Stuart was born and grew up on a small tobacco farm in Patrick County, Virginia. Nancy was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and grew up in Southern California after her family was evacuated following the attack on Pearl Harbor. His son, Stuart Epperson, Jr. now owns and operates stations in Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Charlotte, Raleigh, Richmond, Salt Lake City and Iowa.
Tom Cole
Tom recently retired from a 37 year career in banking. For the last twenty years, he ran Leveraged Finance business at Citi (2010-2021), HSBC (2008-2010) and Deutsche Bank (1987-2007). He has had a leadership role in the Manhattan chapter of NCS since its inception in 2008, and has served on the Board of Directors of NCS since 2012, including as Chairman from 2017-2019. He is currently the Founder and President of the advisory firm Narrow Gate Partners. In addition, Tom serves as President and is a founding member of Faith in Financial Services in New York. Tom received his BS degree in Finance from Indiana University, and his MBA from University of Chicago. He and his wife Kim reside in Naples, Florida and they have three adult children Jenna, Tara and Jonathon.
Tony Pandjiris
Tony Pandjiris is a Senior Portfolio Manager at Avenue Capital Group where he is jointly responsible for directing the investment activities of the Avenue Venture Strategy. Prior to joining Avenue, Tony was a Managing Director in the Technology Group and Energy Technology Group at Hercules Capital where he made debt and equity investments and played a critical role in the investment process. Previously, Tony was a Vice President at Morgan Stanley where he originated and executed corporate finance and M&A transactions. He was also a technology banker at UBS Investment Bank. Previously, Tony worked at Comdisco Ventures, where he structured debt and equity investments and managed distressed company situations after the 2001 technology downturn. Tony started his finance career in SG Cowen’s Private Equity Group.
Tony received a BA, cum laude, in Economics from Vanderbilt University and his MBA from the University of Michigan.
Tony lives in Menlo Park, California with his wife and two boys.
Wiley Mullins
Wiley Mullins is the founder and president of Uncle Wiley’s Specialty Foods, Inc., a Fairfield, Connecticut based firm that produces and markets Wiley’s “Healthy Southern Classics” seasonings and spices. A passion for southern cooking and a starting base of his grandmother’s recipes, combined with ten years of marketing expertise in the packaged food industry enabled Wiley to launch this business in 1992. His goal was to introduce a healthy approach to preparing common foods. He has expanded his product line and distribution network so that today Uncle Wiley’s are now sold in supermarkets across the country.
Wiley is a graduate of The University of Alabama and received a Master’s degree in Business Administration from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. After graduate school, he joined The Procter & Gamble, Inc. Throughout his marketing career he has managed national brands including Vick’s VapoRub, Mott’s Apple Sauce and Vick’s NyQuil.
NCS operates with an Executive Committee of four members of the Board of Directors that meets on a more regular basis to direct the month-to-month governance of NCS and its Board.