The Palo Alto Group at Morgan Stanley

Mark Curtis is a Managing Director - Investments & Wealth Management of Graystone Consulting, a division of Morgan Stanley (and its predecessor firms). His advisory business includes affluent investors, foundations, endowments and corporate services for public and private companies.

Mark has consistently been ranked by leading industry magazines, such as Barron’s Magazine, Registered Rep. Magazine, San Francisco Bizjournal, Financial Times and American Top Advisors. The most recent 2024 “Barron’s–Top 100 Financial Advisors Rankings” recognized him as the #1 advisor in America and also highlighted him as one of the “Stalwart 15” an exclusive award recognizing the 15 financial advisors appearing in every Barron’s top 100 ranking since the inception of the list in 2004.
Mark sits on the advisory boards of Riverwood Capital and previously, he served as co-chairman of Morgan Stanley’s Director Advisory Group and as president of the Association of Professional Investment Consultants (APIC).
He is a graduate of Stanford University with an MBA from UCLA.

Series 3, 7, 63 and 65 Licensed.

Barron's Top 100 Financial Advisors
Source: Barron's.com (Awarded Apr 2024) Data compiled by Barron's based on time period from Dec 2022 - Dec 2023

Dan joined Morgan Stanley in 2004 and focuses on developing and managing corporate sponsored executive financial services (EFS) and financial wellness relationships for pre-IPO and public companies. Dan’s corporate clients include many of the largest 10b5-1 programs in the country. Dan has more than 20 years of experience working with corporations and their C-suite and senior executives and has been named to the Barron’s Top 1,200 Financial Advisors List Ranked State by State in 2015 - 2023.
Dan holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Arizona.

Disclosure
2015-2023 Barron's Top 1,200 Financial Advisors: State-by-State (formerly referred to as Barron's Top 1,000 Financial Advisors: State-by-State)
Source: Barrons.com (Awarded 2015 - 2022). Data compiled by Barron's based on 12-month period concluding in Sept of the year prior to the issuance of the award.

Brian is a member of the Palo Alto Corporate Services Team. The team works with Institutions to implement, Corporate Cash Programs, Employee Equity Plans, Qualified and Non-Qualified Retirement Plans for both public and private companies.

Brian joined Morgan Stanley in 2001. Brian joined as a result of an acquisition of AST StockPlans. AST StockPlans was an outsourced provider of equity administration programs where Brian managed their West Coast sales efforts. AST StockPlans was focused predominately on private companies transitioning to public. Brian currently serves as point of escalation for institutional relationships. In addition to his responsibilities at Morgan Stanley, Brian is the current Board President of his local public school district. Prior to his service with the Moreland School District, Brian served 12 years on the Board of Goodwill until 2010 when he retired as Chairman Emeritus.

Brian holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Tulane University. Upon graduation Brian was commissioned as an officer in the US Army and attended the United States Armor School in Fort Knox, Kentucky. He retired from the US Army Reserve in 2001 as a Captain.

He and his wife, Sarah live in Saratoga, CA with their 3 children, Kate, Lucy, and Benjamin

With nearly 25 years of equity compensation experience, Crispin Hanshaw leads the team’s sales efforts and supports clients in the implementation of executive services and financial wellness programs. Crispin has a proven track record of working with major corporations across a variety of industries, including prominent tech companies in Silicon Valley. He has also assisted numerous private companies on their growth paths, up to and including initial public offerings, and with a select clientele of venture capital firms, addressing their distribution needs. Working in close collaboration with the team’s Advisors, Crispin works to develop highly customized solutions based on the needs of each client and their employees.

Prior to joining the team in 2020, Crispin served as a Director of Corporate Sales at Charles Schwab and as National Sales Director for E•Trade Corporate Services. He received his B.A. in business economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and went on to earn the Certified Equity Professional (CEP) designation from the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University.

A native Texan, Crispin now makes his home in San Mateo, California, where he enjoys gardening, home improvement projects and spending time with his three daughters. He also enjoys getting out to art galleries, concerts and sporting events around Northern California and beyond.

A member of The Curtis Group since 2015, Alex Curtis crafts highly customized wealth management solutions for high net worth individuals, institutional and corporate clients. Alex also supports marketing and strategic initiatives and co-runs a reinvestment business that stems from relationships with the team’s corporate clientele. This effort involves working with over 250 Financial Advisors and advisory teams across the country. Alex manages the team's relationship with Nasdaq Private Market, a joint initiative that provides wealth management education and services to employees and other participants in private company liquidity programs.

In 2021, Alex was named to the Morgan Stanley Pacesetter’s Club, a global recognition program for Financial Advisors who have demonstrated the highest professional standards and first-class client service early in their careers. He began his professional career at Addepar, a financial technology and reporting startup, after graduating from Claremont McKenna College with a B.A. in government.

Born and raised in Palo Alto, Alex is a third-generation Financial Advisor who takes pride in working alongside his father and brother. When not at work, he enjoys traveling, running and trying out new restaurants.

With more than 25 years of institutional financial services experience, Dan Roberts helps major public and private companies implement customized financial programs, such as Executive Financial Counseling, Corporate Cash Management, Employee Stock Plans, along with Qualified and Nonqualified Retirement Plans. Furthermore, working to develop a robust understanding of each corporate client’s employee objectives, Dan seeks to align Morgan Stanley’s solutions with participant engagement strategies to help drive their business outcomes.

Dan has worked in Relationship Management and Institutional Sales positions in the equity compensation industry throughout his career. Prior to his current position, he served as Executive Relationship Manager at Morgan Stanley and, earlier, a Senior Account Executive at E*TRADE. He began his career at Merrill Lynch in their Institutional (401(k)) and Equity Compensation Plan Service Center.

Dan earned a B.A. in Economics from Rutgers University. He is an active member of the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP), previously serving as the President for the Michigan chapter. In addition, he is a Certified Equity Professional (CEP), Six Sigma Green Belt, and has passed the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level 1 exam.

Originally from New Jersey, and after spending several years in New York City, Dan now lives in Southeast Michigan with his wife, Mary, and their three children. He is a regular volunteer at Mt. Brighton Adaptive Sports, assisting those with cognitive and physical disabilities, and enjoys playing guitar and all types of live music.

A Morgan Stanley veteran of 15 years, Rich Baker has more than a decade of experience providing corporations and their executives with needed clarity on insider rules, insight into industry practices and services to access value in their equity. Previously head of Morgan Stanley’s market-leading Executive Financial Services 10b5-1 desk, Rich has a nuanced understanding of the securities regulations governing executive compensation and even engaged with SIFMA and the SEC on regulation changes to Rule 10b5-1, Rule 144, and the move to T+1 settlement.

As a Certified Equity Professional (CEP) and a member of the Curriculum Committee and the Corporate and Securities Law subcommittee of the CEP Institute, Rich helps set standards and design exams for the most widely recognized professional accreditation in equity compensation. He is also a board member of One Spirit, a nonprofit organization dedicated to poverty alleviation and economic development on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Rich regularly volunteers with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey and for SIFMA’s InvestWrite Competition.

Rich received a B.A. in liberal arts from Bard College at Simon’s Rock and went on to earn an MBA from the Lubin School of Business at Pace University, where he was named the Birnbaum Scholar.

Jason Barrett is a finance professional with extensive experience in equity compensation and brokerage services. A Georgia native, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business.

Jason began his career at E*TRADE, where he obtained his FINRA Series 7 & 63 licenses and worked as an advisor. For the past seven years, he has specialized in equity compensation, with the last four years dedicated to administering and managing 10b5-1 trading plans. During this time, he also earned the Certified Equity Professional (CEP) designation, further strengthening his expertise in stock plan administration and regulatory compliance.

Jason currently resides in Woodstock, Georgia, with his wife. Outside of work, he enjoys attending UGA football games, traveling, and exploring the outdoors.

Jon joined Morgan Stanley in 2016 as an Analyst for the Institutional Securities Group before joining the Palo Alto Group in 2017. He helps co-runs the reinvestment business
Jon is a Baltimore native and a graduate of Brown University with a B.A. degree in Economics. He and his wife Jordin live in Palo Alto California

Rich Catipon brings over a decade of experience at Morgan Stanley to his role as the group’s lead Financial Planning Analyst. His primary focus is on the design of comprehensive financial plans, plan implementation and stock optimization strategies. Rich earned his B.A. in economics from Chico State University.

Drawing on over a decade of experience in stock plan services and related fields, Marco Nocero works with public and private companies to implement corporate cash programs, employee equity plans, qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, as well as financial wellness programs. His primary focus is on helping each of the team’s clients customize and navigate Morgan Stanley’s extensive offering to address their specific needs and objectives.

Prior to joining the team in 2021, Marco held a series of increasingly responsible positions at Fidelity and Charles Schwab in their corporate sales and stock plan services groups. He earned his B.A. in communication studies from North Kentucky University.

Marco and his wife, Brandy, live in the Cincinnati suburbs with their three children, Gianni, Mia and Vittoria. In addition to spending time with his family, he enjoys rooting for his Cincinnati teams.

A stock plan services professional for six years, Eric Lucero brings an analytical perspective to the team’s institutional clients. Working in a spirit of partnership with his colleagues and clients, Eric works to ensure that proper protocols are followed, and key metrics are tracked. He seeks to turn data into actionable intelligence to help team and clients optimize plans over time.

Prior to joining the team in 2021, Eric spent four years as a Data Analytics and Reporting Associate at Fisher Investments. He earned his B.B.A. from San Francisco State University.

Eric and his wife live with their two dogs in the Bay Area, where they enjoy spending time with family and friends.

A member of the Palo Alto Group for four years, Sophia Szeto contributes to an outstanding overall service experience for the team’s clients. Sophia is responsible for a broad range of operational and administrative support activities—from the coordination of events and schedules to helping partners access stock plan systems.

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Sophia worked as a Licensed Sales Representative for Allstate Insurance, and as a Loan Representative at World Savings. She earned her B.A. from the University of California, Davis.

Outside of work, Sophia volunteers at her daughter’s school and her young Asian basketball league. She enjoys cooking and spending time with her family, particularly at the beach.

As Group Director for the Palo Alto Corporate Executive Services team, Bryan Carp oversees the optimization and standardization of processes and continuity across the team’s book of business. Among his many responsibilities, Bryan offers solutions to ad hoc client requests, handling escalations, and ensuring that our team is scaled appropriately for new business coming through the pipeline. His goal is to ensure realistic expectations for both corporate and individual clients, improving their by providing consistent above-and-beyond service.

Bryan joined Morgan Stanley in 2017 and transitioned to Corporation Executive Services the following year. He had previously worked as the Operations Manager for the Arrowhead Auto Group, a position he held for six years prior to enrolling at San Francisco State University, where he graduated with a B.S. in business administration.

Raised in Southern California, Bryan and his wife now live in Lincoln, California, with their two children. Outside of work, he enjoys snowboarding, kayaking, hiking and spending time with his extended family. He is currently studying Spanish to keep up with his Spanish-speaking wife and in-laws.

Drawing on the network and knowledge he has built over the course of his 10-year tenure at The Palo Alto Group, Lee Sundstrom delivers creative solutions to address the specific goals of the team’s corporate and private clients. Lee excels at handling unique challenges, bringing together the right combination of Morgan Stanley capabilities and expertise to craft solutions.

Lee joined Morgan Stanley after graduation from the University of California, San Diego, with a B.A. in economics and a minor in accounting.
Lee was born in the Bay Area but lived in Canada and Hong Kong before settling with his family in Sunnyvale, California. He spends his free time with his two sons, and working on home and garden projects.

Drawing on more than 15 years of diverse financial industry experience, Ashna Sharma supports the team’s Advisors in delivering Corporate Stock Plan 10B5-1 programs. As a member of The Palo Alto Group PACES team, Ashna’s primary focus is on managing relationships with our corporate clients and working with our Financial Advisor partners and Executive Financial Services Team to ensure the needs of our corporate clients are met. Her many responsibilities include providing 10b51 to Financial Advisors and team members, managing 10b51 adoptions and plan reviews, managing transfers and trading for executives, and Section 16 Form 4 reporting.

Ashna began her career at Wells Fargo Bank, where she spent eight years and was promoted to Service Manager. She joined our team at Morgan Stanley in 2016 as a Client Service Associate and rose to her current position in 2021.

A Bay Area native, Ashna speaks Hindi as well as English. In her free time, she enjoys hiking traveling and spending time with family and friends.

Qirat joined Morgan Stanley in 2021 as a Stock Plan services professional, rising into her current role providing operational and client support to the Palo Alto Corporate Executive Services Team in 2023. Her can-do attitude, coupled with her attention to detail and communication skills enables her to deliver the firm and provide white glove support to clients. Her analytical nature, along with her empathy and personability add to her professional strengths in providing support to both her team and a broad array of client operations.
Prior to beginning her career with Morgan Stanley, Qirat graduated from the University of Maryland with a B.S. in Financial Economics with honors. Her entrepreneurial spirit enabled her to start a retail business during Covid, however, she transitioned into her role in Stock Plan operations shortly after. Born in England, Qirat has grown up in 4 countries and is fluent in Urdu, Hindi, and Punjabi apart from English. She has finally found her forever home in the Bay Area, California, where she enjoys travel, food, music and experiencing new cultures.

Starting in May of 2024, Riley Tolles joined The Palo Alto Group PACES team as a Client Relationship Analyst, where she assists in the creation and execution of 10b5-1 trading plans. Her responsibilities include engaging in the operational implementation of these corporate stock plans along with enhancing our corporate client relationships.

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Riley graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a B.S. in finance and accounting. During her time there, she gained diverse experience through internships in business banking, accounting, and commercial real estate development.

Before moving to the Bay Area, Riley was born and raised in Reno, Nevada, where she came to love hiking, skiing, and cooking.

Elizabeth Kent-Levy has nearly three decades of experience as a financial advisor and senior client service professional, all focused on the needs of ultra high net worth clients. Elizabeth plays a key role in the team’s business operations, supporting the delivery of Morgan Stanley’s wealth management capabilities, solutions and resources a select clientele of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, corporate executives and their families.

Elizabeth began her career with Morgan Stanley in 1995 and rose to her current position in 2023. She had previously worked with teams in Houston, Los Angeles, Hartford and Menlo Park, California. Earlier in her career, Elizabeth and her husband built a successful financial advisory practice. She transitioned to a support professional role when they had children. Elizabeth has enjoyed the client service side of the business and continues to focus on delivering an excellent standard of care, and outstanding and responsive service.