Tom Breaden, CFA serves as executive director and the director of analytics for the Hyas Group and leads the firm’s analytics department which includes oversight and project management in support of the firm’s defined contribution plan, defined benefit plan, non-qualified deferred compensation plan, and OPEB clients. He conducts asset allocation analyses, vendor reviews, investment option due diligence, and prepares managers search reports which analyze both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the funds within Hyas Group client line-ups. Mr. Breaden conducts manager interviews, authors white papers and special analyses on current market trends and meets directly with clients when his technical expertise is required to explain manager search presentations and watch list discussions.

Prior to joining the Hyas Group as a senior analyst in 2011, Mr. Breaden worked for five years at Heintzberger Payne as an analyst and director of research where his primary duties included developing and guiding investment decisions, manager due diligence, performance reporting, and other duties associated with the firm’s investment advisory and third party administrative branches. Mr. Breaden graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Oregon with dual majors in History and Economics and received a Master of Science in Economics from Portland State University. Mr. Breaden has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute and the CFA Society Portland.

Denise Chapman is a senior client services administrator for the Hyas Group. She is responsible for supporting senior consultants with high-level administrative functions. Prior to joining the Hyas Group, Ms. Chapman served as director for a non-profit organization where she managed events, oversaw staffing, and ensured safety compliance of volunteers. During her tenure there, she was responsible for the recruiting and training of volunteers, procuring supplies, and updating database records with staffing and compliance records. Previously, she served as the office manager for Alexicon, Inc., a Colorado-based telecom management consulting firm, where she supervised the day-to-day office operations. Additionally, she provided support for senior partners and consultants with executive administrative functions.

Rasch Cousineau is an executive director and senior principal for the Hyas Group and focuses on the firm’s retirement plan sponsor clients. With over 20 years of experience in the public sector retirement services industry, he offers clients a rich perspective on investment portfolio construction, retirement plan design, vendor management, plan governance, fee negotiation, RFP management, and fiduciary training. Prior to joining the Hyas Group, Mr. Cousineau served as national vice president, defined contribution markets for an industry-leading record keeper. This prior experience enables Mr. Cousineau to provide his clients with a unique behind the scenes understanding of how record keepers evaluate, administer, and ultimately price relationships. His ability to help clients monitor plan costs and renegotiate favorable contracts stems from his previous role where he worked closely with industry consultants, investment advisers, plan sponsors, unions, and investment committees during the third party administrator RFP process. He now works directly with retirement plan sponsors and committees, helping them to create better retirement outcomes for their plan participants and ultimately fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities.   

Mr. Cousineau has spoken at conferences and worked with industry organizations such as CPAAC, CCMF, OMFOA, CPPC, IPMA, CSMFO, CalPELRA, NFOP, ICMA and GFOA. He has spoken about topics such as defined contribution industry trends, plan design, fiduciary responsibility, and plan best practices. He has made media appearances on National News services discussing retirement plan financial wellness from a consultant’s perspective. He is the Hyas Group’s primary representative for the SPARK Institute—a member-driven, non-profit organization that is the leading voice influencing federal retirement plan policy. He serves on SPARK’s Data Security Oversight Board (DSOB) which is dedicated to creating measurable cybersecurity benchmarks for the retirement industry and on SPARK’s Defeating Fraud Intelligence Task Force. He is also a member of the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA) where he currently serves as Chair on NAGDCA’s Awards Committee. Mr. Cousineau received a Bachelor of Arts in public relations/marketing from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. He is a current FINRA Series 65 license-holder and formerly held Series 6, 63, licenses, along with an insurance license with the State of Nevada.  

Jayson Davidson is the executive director and managing principal for the Hyas Group. He is responsible for providing a wide range of consulting services to the firm’s corporate, governmental, and non-profit defined contribution retirement plan clients. He also advises defined benefit pension plan boards, VEBA trusts, and other healthcare savings plan Boards. Mr. Davidson assists plan sponsors with a variety of functions including on-going investment monitoring and due diligence, vendor analysis, investment manager searches, fee analysis and negotiations, Request for Proposal (RFP) construction, investment policy statement development, global plan design, and legal/regulatory requirements. He frequently lectures at industry conferences on topics such as fiduciary responsibility, target-date fund trends, ideal plan design, and retirement plan fees and expenses.

Prior to joining the Hyas Group, Mr. Davidson served as a senior investment consultant at Arnerich Massena, Inc. During his six year tenure, he helped develop the firm’s corporate and governmental defined contribution plan practice, which served over 70 clients and $15 billion in assets. He also managed the majority of the firm’s vendor review and search-related projects. Prior to that, Mr. Davidson served as Vice-President for the Western United States division of ICMA Retirement Corporation. He was responsible for new client relationships and vendor transitions for 401(k), 457, and 401(a) plans. Mr. Davidson began his career in 1996 as a defined contribution and benefit consultant for Howard Johnson & Company.

Mr. Davidson graduated with honors from the University of California at Berkeley with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. He has passed the FINRA Series 6, 63 and 65 exams and has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. Additionally, he is a member of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute and the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA).

Vincent Galindo is an executive director and senior principal for the Hyas Group. With more than 25 years of experience in the investment services industry, he works with plan sponsor committees on plan governance, fiduciary training, investment menu monitoring, vendor management, and fee analysis and review. Reviewing retirement plans, evaluating features within the program, benchmarking fees and services, and monitoring investment menus, he offers his clients a rich perspective on retirement plan design and portfolio construction. Mr. Galindo also has conducted regular on-site due diligence trips to the major record keepers, keeping clients apprised of trends and service enhancements in the industry.

Prior to joining the Hyas Group, Mr. Galindo worked at Arnerich Massena, Inc. for a decade as a senior investment consultant where he served on their internal retirement plan committee. Before joining Arnerich Massena, Mr. Galindo ran the State of Oregon’s Investor Information Program with the Division of Finance and Corporate Securities. He has also worked as a financial adviser for an asset management firm and as an equity capital markets analyst at a technology investment bank.

Mr. Galindo earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a FINRA Series 65 license-holder and a former Series 7 and 63 license-holder. He is a member of the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA) where he has most recently served on their Annual Conference Committee. In addition, he has also served on NAGDCA’s Leading Ideas Investment Task Force, Awards Committee, Legislative Committee, and Education Taskforce as well as its Investment Policy Taskforce and Government DC Best Practices Task Force.

Marlee Griffith is a graphic designer for the Hyas Group. She is responsible for establishing company brand guidelines and ensuring all materials are cohesive. Additionally, she offers her design expertise for a variety of company projects.

Prior to joining the Hyas Group, Ms. Griffith was the graphic designer for the Italian product design studio, deepdesign. During her time in Milan, her responsibilities included the production of all graphics work within the studio. Under this umbrella, she created packaging for the iconic Italian brand, SMEG, collaborated with product designers to create custom electronic icons, as well as ideated and designed new project pitches for studio clients.

Ms. Griffith’s previous design experience includes internships at T. Rowe Price and the Baltimore advertising agency, MGH, Inc. where she elevated brand messaging through visual communications both online and off. In addition to daily production work, she created a fully integrated mock marketing campaign alongside interdepartmental interns.

Ms. Griffith graduated with honors from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in Graphic Design with a concentration in Photography before continuing on to pursue a Masters in Visual Design from Scuola Politecnica di Design.

Ted Grigsby, CIMA is an executive director and senior principal for the Hyas Group and focuses on serving the firm’s retirement plan sponsor clients. With nearly 20 years of experience in the investment services industry, he works with plan sponsor committees to improve participant outcomes through plan design, fiduciary training and governance, investment monitoring, vendor management, and fee analysis and review. Throughout his career, Mr. Grigsby has spent time serving both the board room and developing participant education programs, which has allowed him to bring a unique and experienced perspective to plan design and portfolio construction. In order to stay current on industry trends, enhancements, and changing legislation, Mr. Grigsby conducts regular on-site due-diligence trips to major record keepers and industry professionals.

Prior to joining the Hyas Group, Mr. Grigsby worked at Human Investing, a Northwest-based Registered Investment Advisor firm for 12 years. The majority of his tenure was spent developing and leading all aspects of the firm’s retirement plan practice. As a director and lead consultant, Mr. Grigsby’s responsibilities included plan design, investment menu construction, RFP management, vendor management, and developing customized participant education programs. Mr. Grigsby primarily served the firm’s corporate and nonprofit clients.

Mr. Grigsby began his career at Franklin-Templeton Investments in California. During his time at Franklin, he worked closely with the firm’s global portfolio management and trading team and gained valuable insight into the inner-workings of mutual fund companies.

Mr. Grigsby earned a Bachelor of Science in Business and Finance from the University of Oregon, Lundquist College of Business and received a Master of Science in Finance from University of Portland, Pamplin School of Business. Mr. Grigsby has received a CIMA® certification, having completed his education at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

He is a FINRA Series 65 license-holder and is a member of the Investment and Wealth Institute. He is also a member of the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA). Mr. Grigsby volunteers his time to serve as a committee member for several nonprofit organizations.

Geoff Hildreth is a vice president and a senior performance analyst for the Hyas Group. He is responsible for contributing to a variety of projects including production of investment performance reports, plan and vendor analyses, and other initiatives. Prior to joining the Hyas Group, Mr. Hildreth was a Performance Measurement Analyst and Team Lead at Arnerich Massena, Inc. During his 10 year tenure there, his main responsibilities included account reconciliation, report generation, design and implementation of automated reporting processes—including daily valuation and alternative pricing models, and management of the firm’s 9-member performance measurement department. Mr. Hildreth’s previous industry experience includes serving as the Retirement Plan Services Daily Operations Manager for Asher Retirement/AKT Retirement Plan Services. Mr. Hildreth holds a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree from Concordia University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Willamette University. He has also passed the CIPM Principles Exam.

Matt MacDonald, CFA serves as a Senior Analyst and is responsible for contributing to a variety of projects. He is a member of the Investment Committee and conducts asset allocation analyses, investment manager due diligence, and prepares managers search reports which analyze both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the funds within Hyas Group client line-ups. Mr. MacDonald meets directly with clients when his technical expertise is required to explain research, due diligence, and investment watch list discussions.

Mr. MacDonald has also worked as an investment analyst at an emerging and frontier market investment manager where his primary responsibilities included conducting fundamental research on companies within Latin America and Africa, meeting with senior personnel at target companies, and providing investment recommendations to the lead portfolio manager. Prior to joining the Hyas Group, he was a portfolio analyst at a high net worth investment advisor where his primary responsibilities included conducting investment research and providing quantitative portfolio reports to senior leadership. Mr. MacDonald graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from Vancouver Island University with a concentration in Finance. Mr. MacDonald has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute and the CFA Society Victoria.

Kathryn Talley Manning is a senior client services administrator for the Hyas Group. She is responsible for supporting senior consultants with high-level administrative functions. Prior to joining the Hyas Group, Ms. Manning worked at Arnerich Massena, Inc. as a senior administrative assistant where she was responsible for the support of retirement plans, endowments and foundations, RFP coordination, and business development event planning.  With more than 20 years of experience in administration and developing company culture and engagement, she has provided project management, applied research, and technology solutions that promote innovative and successful business outcomes. Ms. Manning holds a Bachelor of Science in the Social Sciences from Portland State University.

Michelle Moreno is a Senior Client Services Administrator for the Hyas Group. She is responsible for supporting senior consultants with high-level administrative functions. Prior to joining the Hyas Group, Ms. Moreno worked at Pariani Villella LLC and the Underdog Law Office as a senior paralegal where she was responsible for drafting legal pleadings, case filings and management, and assisting in discovery collection and processing. After more than five years of working in a legal support capacity, Ms. Moreno pivoted into the investment advisory realm and joined the Hyas Group. She was born and raised in Salem, Oregon and graduated from the University of Oregon in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a certification in Global Business Management.

Kathi McKiernan is vice president of client service operations for the Hyas Group. She is responsible for supporting the firm’s operational and administrative functions and serves as an additional resource on provider evaluation RFP projects. Prior to joining the Hyas Group, Ms. McKiernan worked at Arnerich Massena, Inc. as an Executive Assistant and Project Coordinator, where she was responsible for supporting senior consultants with high level administrative functions. She also served as project coordinator for the firm’s provider evaluation RFP projects. Prior to that, Ms. McKiernan was an Executive Assistant to the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Meier & Frank, Inc. (A division of May Department Stores, now operating as Macy’s).

Matt Morganroth is a senior analyst and is responsible for contributing to a variety of projects including plan and vendor analyses, manager due diligence and research, production of investment performance reports, asset allocation work, and other initiatives. Prior to joining the Hyas Group, Mr. Morganroth worked at Northwest Capital Management as a Plan and Research Analyst where he was primarily responsible for investment performance reporting, manager searches and due diligence, and plan fee reviews. Under their former recordkeeping branch, Mr. Morganroth also worked in Operations, focusing on payroll processing, fund change implementation, balance reconciliation, and trading. Mr. Morganroth holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Whitman College. He is a FINRA Series 65 license holder.

Dale Parker is the executive director and managing analyst for the Hyas Group. He is responsible for supporting all aspects of the firm’s operations, investment research, and a broad range of client projects. Mr. Parker also serves as the analytical project lead for all clients, where he leverages his deep industry expertise in analyzing pricing and platform structure as well as investment vehicles. He is charged with assessing all expense, revenue, and investment platform requirements, and he plays the primary role in the compilation of the firm’s third party administrator RFP analysis. Assessing and lowering plan fees is a core competency of Mr. Parker. His expertise in fee and cost analysis allow him to effectively use competitive market data points to achieve cost savings and improved participant features and services for Hyas Group clients.

Prior to founding the Hyas Group in 2008, Mr. Parker served as a senior analyst at Arnerich Massena, Inc. where he was instrumental in designing and implementing the processes and analytical tools utilized across the firm. During his 11-year tenure, Mr. Parker was responsible for a broad range of client project work, investment manager research, and constructing pricing models and analytical tools utilized in the evaluation of institutional client accounts. His previous industry experience encompasses a broad range of buy-side analytical work, including the initial launch and management of a mutual fund product line as well as corporate valuation tasks. Mr. Parker holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance/Law from Portland State University.

Michelle Ruppelt is vice president of business control & risk for the Hyas Group. In her role, Michelle is responsible for developing and maintaining an effective risk and control framework for the firm. This includes review of general client information and files, contracts, correspondence and performance reports, and continuous oversight of the firm’s supervisory program. She also assists in client operations and performance reporting utilizing a variety of reporting platforms.

Prior to joining Hyas Group, Ms. Ruppelt worked at Arnerich Massena, Inc. as Chief Compliance Officer, and during her 13-year tenure there, held additional positions including manager of the client services team and manager of the performance measurement department. She has more than 35 years of experience in the financial industry, including operational and management roles in the brokerage industry.

Gregory Settle is an executive director and senior principal for the Hyas Group. He has nearly 30 years of experience working in the design, implementation, and operation of the 401(a), 457, 401(k), and health care savings plans of public employers. His work is focused on helping plan sponsors to implement innovative plan design solutions that promote successful participant outcomes. He assists with the construction of optimized investment menus, appropriate and effective participant services platforms, and fee and expense review and control programs. He has also led multiple public employers through comprehensive RFP/provider search processes and investment manager searches. Prior to joining the Hyas Group, Mr. Settle was an investment consultant and vice president with Aon Investment Consulting (AIC) in Seattle, where he consulted to retirement plans and led the AIC Stable Value Investment Research Team. His career has also included serving in management positions with several defined contribution plan recordkeepers and investment managers.

Mr. Settle is a long term member of the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA) and has served on the NAGDCA Investment Policy Board and Survey Committee and Conference Committee. He has spoken about retirement plan oversight at the annual NAGDCA National Conference and to State and Regional gatherings of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and the International City-County Management Association. He graduated from Portland State University School of Business with a BS (honors) in Finance/Law, and has passed the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level I Exam. He has also passed the FINRA Series 7, 63, 65 and 28 (Principal) Exams, and is a frequent speaker at the conferences of governmental finance and human resource professionals.

Liz Skourtes serves as project manager for the firm’s sales and marketing efforts in responding to RFPs for prospective clients. Prior to joining the Hyas Group, Ms. Skourtes was the sales and marketing coordinator and RFP project manager at Arnerich Massena, Inc. During her 10 year tenure there, her main responsibilities included proposal management and support of the firm’s sales and business development team. Ms. Skourtes’ previous industry experience includes serving as an account manager for four years at Bidwell & Company (acquired by TD Ameritrade) in the brokerage services industry. Ms. Skourtes holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from Whitman College. She is a former FINRA Series 7 license holder.

Alin Syed is a Senior Performance Analyst for the Hyas Group. He is responsible for contributing to a variety of projects including production of investment performance reports, data sourcing and aggregation, and maintaining internal structures. During his time with the Hyas Group Alin has adopted multiple roles and responsibilities including: maintaining communications with recordkeepers, client specific and internal projects, organizing tasks and internal information. Mr. Syed holds a Bachelor of Science – Business Administration Finance degree from Portland State University.

Ned Taylor is an executive director and senior principal for the Hyas Group and is responsible for developing and managing institutional client relationships. With over 20 years of experience in the investment services industry, he offers clients a broad perspective on retirement plan design, plan administration and recordkeeping, participant education, compliance testing and government reporting, and investment advisory support. His areas of expertise include strategic education, implementing retirement plan strategies, and optimizing outcomes for participants. Ned began his career in the defined contribution industry as a participant services representative and he continues to combine this skill set with his expertise on general investing, new industry products and services, and observations of the effectiveness of these new features, in the development of participant education for employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Prior to joining the Hyas Group, Mr. Taylor worked at The Standard for more than a decade in a variety of roles. As the Western Regional Service Manager, he built a team of 14 relationship managers spread across five offices and oversaw the recordkeeping conversion of more than 1,400 plans through multiple acquisitions. As the Key Account relationship manager at Standard Retirement Services, he worked directly with the largest and most complex retirement plan Boards ranging from $5million to over $1 billion in plan assets on customized advisory solutions for pension and defined contribution plans, recordkeeping, as well as employee services, including participant education and communications. Prior to The Standard, he worked at Columbia Funds for over five years as an institutional investment consultant with clients ranging from full-service retirement plans to large, single discipline separate account relationships.

Mr. Taylor earned his Bachelor of Arts in history and religious studies from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. He is a FINRA Series 65 holder, a former FINRA Series 6 and 63 license-holder and served on the Board of the Portland Chapter of Western Pension & Benefits from 2012-2019. He speaks regularly at industry events and is considered well versed in a variety of retirement plan topics, from plan design to fee equality.

Audrey White is an executive director and senior principal for the Hyas Group. She is responsible for managing institutional client relationships and providing advice to plan sponsors, investment committees and boards as they carry out their obligations to their respective investment portfolios. With more than 20 years of experience in the investment services industry, Ms. White offers clients valuable perspective on retirement plan administration and design, investment portfolio construction and the ongoing monitoring and due diligence required of today’s retirement plans and institutional portfolios. She is focused on helping clients develop innovative solutions that promote successful participant and portfolio outcomes.

Prior to joining the Hyas Group, Ms. White served as a senior relationship manager for Morley Capital Management where she specialized in assisting the firm’s clients with the implementation and evaluation of stable value, fixed income investment solutions. During her 13 years at Morley, she worked directly with public and corporate plan committees overseeing retirement programs ranging in size from $10 million to over $2 billion in assets. Her expertise in navigating the complexities of the insurance contracts and accounting mechanics associated with most stable value products is also sought by recordkeepers, investment advisors and other industry professionals.

Ms. White graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Communication, with an emphasis in Business Administration, from the University of Oregon. Ms. White is a current FINRA Series 65 license-holder and formerly held Series 7, 63, licenses, along with an insurance license with the State of Oregon.  She is a member of the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA) and Women in Pensions Network (WiPN).