Riverwalk Wealth Team

As a Wealth Management Advisor with over 32 years of financial experience, Matthew joined Northwestern Mutual in 2005 and has built his reputation on working with affluent clients around the country.

Prior to joining NM in 2005, Matthew graduated from Syracuse University with dual majors in finance and marketing. He began his career as a Financial Advisor in 1990 with American Express Financial Advisors where he advanced to Regional Vice President. He then joined Raymond James in 2001 as a Vice President and Director of Private Client Group.

In 2023, Matthew was named to Barron’s Top 1200 Financial Advisors for the third year in a row. Additionally, he was named to Forbes’s Best-In-State Top Financial Security Professionals and Forbes’s Best-In-State Wealth Advisors in 2022 and 2023, and was ranked in the Top 400 Financial Advisors in the Industry by the Financial Times in 2019 and 2020. Matthew lives in Tampa with his wife Mili and his energetic children James and Ainsley.

Walter joined Northwestern Mutual in 1979 with a focus on Wealth Preservation, Wealth Management, and Business Succession.

Walter helps clients clearly define their Mission, Vision, Values and Goals. He helps clients make wise choices with their wealth, while helping with the impact of taxes through the use of wealth strategy tools, liquidity, and custom insurance designs – providing clients with increased freedom, flexibility, ownership, and control.

Walter attended Northwestern Preparatory School in Mound, Minnesota, The United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado and The University of North Carolina at Charlotte with studies in Math and Business.

John Faircloth serves as Chief Operations Officer. 

John’s background is very diverse and unique.  He started his financial career with American Express Financial Advisors in Princeton NJ in 1998 as a Financial Advisor.  Quickly realizing his passion for investments John then worked on the fixed income desks of Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs in the ensuing years, working with and helping manage multi-billion-dollar bond portfolios around the world.

 After the 2008 financial crisis John felt the need to work with individual clients and families versus large institutions and pension funds so he returned to Merrill Lynch and was once again a Financial Advisor.  He quickly became the in-house investment expert for his branch and was eventually placed in charge of a team that helped create portfolios for advisors all over the country.  He has since expanded on that expertise to include all areas of practice management including client service initiatives, marketing, trading, and streamlining of processes and procedures.

John earned his Bachelor of Arts in History from Thomas Edison University, and his MBA from Villanova University.  He and his wife Elizabeth enjoy spending time with their three boys, Tyler, Sean and Conner.

Chris joined our team as the Director of Portfolio Research and Advisory. Previously, he spent 9 years as the Director of Private Client Services at the Northwestern Mutual home office located in Milwaukee, WI. During his tenure, Chris’ team supported the significant growth of the Private Client Service (PCS) program from $350 million in assets under management (AUM) to over $3.5 billion. Chris served as team leader for a portfolio management and client service team responsible for day-to-day investment operations. He also traveled extensively meeting with advisors and their clients to present PCS investment solutions.

Chris has now spent much of his 18-year career in portfolio management. During this time, Chris has developed and led teams in portfolio construction, strategic asset allocation, and the ability to create a portfolio based on client’s specific investment objectives. Chris is excited to join our team to allow him to change focus from an institutional approach to more one-on-one personal experience with clients. 

Prior to Northwestern Mutual, Chris worked for 8 years at Atlantic Trust, a wealth management firm, and worked for a Member of Congress on Capitol Hill, focusing on Finance and International Relations legislative agendas.  Chris has a degree from Denison University and a master’s degree from Boston University.  In his free time, Chris coaches Lacrosse, shuffles his four children around to various activities, and when he can, enjoys a good history book.

Ivelisse joined Riverwalk Wealth Advisors in November of 2020 where she has taken on the role of the Investment Operations Manager. She has 10 years of experience in the investment field and will bring her expertise and focus to continue to provide our clients the best of experiences.

Ivelisse began her investment career at a community bank in Connecticut where she obtained her Series 7, 63, 65, 24, and her Life, Health, and Variable Annuity License. She has worked with over 20 different financial advisors at three different firms and has made it her goal to build lasting relationships with those advisors and their clients.

She moved to Florida with her husband in the spring of 2017. During her free time Ivelisse enjoys reading and spending time in nature. She currently lives in Tampa with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.

Kip graduated from the University of Florida with degrees in Business Administration-Finance and Anthropology.  He has been with Riverwalk Wealth Advisors holding a variety of roles on the team.  His current responsibilities include managing the advisory book of business, trading accounts, contributing to our investment committee, and tailoring financial plans to help our clients reach their goals.

When he isn’t at work, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Alexa, and goldendoodle, Tucker, as well as traveling, cooking, DIY projects, and visiting every local brewery he finds.  He is also a rabid supporter of Florida Gator athletics, Tampa Bay professional teams, and Manchester United FC.

With a BS in Accounting, Kunal started to work in the financial industry over 10 years ago. He moved from Illinois in 2016 to join Wells Fargo as a Licensed and Premier Banker for the previous 3 years. He joined our Riverwalk team in November 2021 as a Relationship Coordinator.

Kunal's favorite part of the role is building and deepening relationships with clients. He sees himself as a Compliance or Operations Manager in the future and looks forward to continued growth within Riverwalk.

Kunal lives in Tampa with his wife and 2 daughters. When not working he loves spending time with his family and listening to music. 

Katherine joined the Riverwalk team in March of 2022.  Katherine brings with her 30+ years of experience in the financial Industry. She started her career in 1987 in Buffalo, New York where she obtained her Series 7 & 63 licenses.  In 1990 Katherine moved to Tampa, Florida and worked the bulk of her career at  A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc (12 years) and LPL Financial, LLC (14 years). Katherine also holds the Series 65 license and the Life, Health and Variable Annuity license.  She maintains her AAMS® designation through the College for Financial Planning.

 Katherine's favorite part about the role is working with a team and helping our clients achieve and maintain financial independence.

 Katherine resides in Tampa. She has two daughters, Jessica and Emily, a golden doodle and a mini lop bunny. In her free time, she enjoys bass fishing, gardening and taking nature photos.

Karrisa joined Riverwalk Wealth Advisors in August of 2021 as a Relationship Coordinator. She graduated from the University of Florida in May of 2020 with a degree in Business Administration. Karrisa began her career with Fidelity Investments assisting clients with retirement planning and investment guidance in Jacksonville, Florida. She quickly realized her passion for financial planning and decided to move back to her hometown of Tampa, Florida and joined Riverwalk Wealth advisors so she can continue to help clients reach their financial goals. In her free time, Karrisa enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and cheering on Florida Gator athletics.

Daniel graduated from the University of South Florida in December 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Global Business with a concentration in Finance. He started his professional career as an intern for Riverwalk Wealth Advisors in August 2021. Since then, Daniel has transitioned into a Financial Planning Assistant role. He works together with our Financial Planning Analyst to ensure that our clients get a clear picture of their financial stance to help them in the decision-making process of achieving their financial goals. His personal goal is to become a financial advisor to teach people about financial literacy and help those going through financial difficulties.

Daniel was born in Venezuela and moved to Tampa in 2013. He likes to spend his free time with his family and his dog, Luke. He also likes to ride mountain bike with his friends and wants to travel the country to visit the best mountain bike parks.

Mary joined Northwestern Mutual and Riverwalk Wealth Advisors in March of 2020 as the Associate Financial Representative.

She graduated from Appalachian State University with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Sociology minor, followed by a year on the mission field in Honduras. She taught Spanish for five years before entering the business world and working with best-selling sales author, Jeffrey Gitomer.

After years of thinking through the possibilities, Mary is now living her childhood dream of working with her father, Walter. She is excited to be a part of this team and to have the opportunity to help people every day.