VNFA News- Announces Promotions

Posted on February 7, 2023 by The Weekly Commentary

We are pleased to announce the promotions of three of our VNFA team members. Ashley Santiago, SHRM-CP, has been promoted to Vice President, Human Resources & Organizational Development, Ildebrando E. Cruz has been promoted to Assistant Vice President, Trading & Operations, and Debra Almack, CPA, has been promoted to Corporate Controller.

Ashley Santiago, SHRM-CP, has been with the company for five years and has contributed greatly to the employee experience by creating a performance-driven workplace. In her new role, she will work closely with our CEO on organization, culture, employee development, and executive transparency. Ashley is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Human Resource Management at Moravian University and was recently named an honoree to Lehigh Valley Business 2022 Forty under 40.

Ildebrando E. Cruz began his career in the banking industry and worked as a Service Manager in the Private Banking Division. Mr. Cruz has worked in operations and trading in the investment advisory industry for 34 years. He has been employed with Valley National Financial Advisors for 16 years. In his new role, he will oversee the back-office operations and the trading platforms and execute and supervise two of the firm’s proprietary investment strategies. He also sits on the compliance committee, investment committee, investment department, and operations team. Ildebrando enjoys spending time with his family and is married to his childhood sweetheart of 49 years.

Debra Almack, CPA, joined Valley National in June 2021 as a Senior Accountant. In her new role, she will be responsible for the direct supervision of all daily, monthly, and annual accounting and financials. She has worked in accounting since graduating from Messiah College in 1989. Debra worked in various industries, starting as a tax accountant before spending over 20 years in a not-for-profit organization as their Controller. She moved to the Lehigh Valley with her husband in 2018. They enjoy walking their dog on the many trails in this area, and she loves reading books in her spare time.

Valley National Financial Advisors, and its family of companies, has been in the Lehigh Valley since 1985. The company is independent and locally owned. As a respected and trusted organization, our relationships with many clients and their families transcend generations. We have the expertise to provide clients with financial strategies to effectively manage their existing assets and to provide for the eventual transfer of their wealth.

Our one-stop service model includes: Financial Planning – Investment Management – Estate Planning – Retirement Planning – Education Planning – Tax Planning & Preparation – Insurance Planning – Trust Services, offered as a Trust Representative Office of National Advisors Trust Company, FSB – ExecutiveEdgeTM, Personal Financial Planning for Corporate Leaders. Our services are provided by a team of objective professionals and managed by one contact person – your personal financial advisor.

Valley National Financial Advisors is proud home of the Lehigh Valley’s most CFP® – Certified Financial Planner Professionals^TM. Among other honors, Valley National has been voted Best Financial Planner in the Lehigh Valley seven times by the readers of Lehigh Valley Magazine, and ranked among FA Magazine’s Top RIAs and AdvisorOne’s Top Wealth Managers.

For more than years, our firm has been devoted to helping our clients to achieve their hopes, dreams and aspirations. This requires a delicate balance between the science of financial planning and the art of understanding the feelings and emotions of our clients and their families.

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