foundation logo 


Leadership Biographies

Headshot of Kevin Sanchez

 



Kevin Sánchez, CIMA®, CPWA®, CFP®, MBA
Foundation Board Chair

Kevin Sánchez has served as chair of the Annual Conference Committee and board liaison to the Membership Committee for the Investments & Wealth Institute. He joined the Board of Directors in 2012. He is a senior institutional consultant with UBS Consulting in Walnut Creek, CA. He works with boards of nonprofit organizations, foundations, and endowments on prudent investment policies, portfolio designs and implementation, and fiduciary liability review. His experience includes comprehensive wealth management for affluent families, and he lectures frequently on this topic.
 


Headshot of Dorothy Bossung

 



Dorothy Bossung, CIMA®, CPWA®, RMA® , CFP®
Foundation Board Member

Dorothy Bossung joined the board of directors in 2014. She serves on the Institute's Retirement Advisory. She serves on the Institute's Retirement Advisory. Ms. Bossung is director at BDO Wealth Advisors, LLC. Prior to joining BDO, she served as executive vice president at Lowery Asset Consulting, a Chicago-based registered investment advisory firm. She provided consulting services to Lowery's institutional and family office clients and was active in manager research, tactical and strategic allocation decisions, and was a member of the firm's investment committee. This followed 10 years of leadership roles within the investment practices of three multinational accounting firms, and 18 years with multi-national brokerage firms. 
 

Headshot of Christine Gaze

 



Christine Gaze, CIMA®
Foundation Board Member

Christine Gaze earned the CIMA certification in 2005. Ms. Gaze is founder and president of Purpose Consulting Group works with asset managers and wealth-management firms to develop thought leadership and training programs that deliver results. She has held a variety of leadership positions at Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, AllianceBernstein, and TD Ameritrade during her career. She earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and psychology from the State University of New York College at Brockport.
 

Headshot of Karen Heath Wade
 


Karen Heath-Wade
Foundation Board Member

Karen Heath-Wade is Senior Vice President and Global Head of Client Strategy and Service for American Century Investments, an independent, privately controlled, pure-play asset management firm founded in 1958. Karen’s expertise includes strategic planning, business development, relationship management, process and talent management. Across American Century’s global distribution organization, she leads exceptionally engaged teams to deliver to clients the highest-quality experience. She is a member of the firm’s Expanded Management Committee, a senior leadership team responsible for offering perspective on the establishment and execution of strategic priorities. She also is a member of American Century’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion committee. Before joining American Century Investments in 2018, Karen was Director, Head of U.S. Sales for Allianz. Previously, she was Vice President of Mutual Fund Sales, Head of Distribution for Nationwide Financial Services.
Karen works to inspire innovation, build engaged teams, and develop tomorrow’s leaders. She serves on Investments & Wealth Institute’s government relations committee and is a member of the Membership Experience Committee for Money Management Institute. Karen is a board member of Bottomless Closet, an NYC-based organization that provides women with tools and resources to enter the workforce and achieve success. Karen earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Mount Holyoke College and a master’s in business administration from Loyola University of Chicago. She holds a CIMA designation and is a Certified Business Coach through Worldwide Association of Business Coaches.
 

Headshot of Desiree Maldonado

 



Desiree Maldonado, CIMA®, CPWA®, CFP®
Foundation Board Member

Desiree Maldonado, is a financial advisor at Popular Securities, LLC. Maldonado has served clients with Popular, Inc. since 2004. With over 20 years of experience, Maldonado has dedicated her career to assisting high net worth individuals and families manage and preserve their assets. Maldonado and her team offer comprehensive investment and financial planning services, and she specializes in helping clients plan for financial independence, manage risk, and plan their legacies. She has the unique distinction of being the first CPWA certificant in Puerto Rico and one of only a handful in Puerto Rico to have earned the CIMA, CPWA and CFP designations. Maldonado has been an active member of the Institute since 2004 and has served as chair of the CPWA Certification Commission.
 

Headshot of Ira Cox
 



Ira W. Cox MBA, CIMA®, CPWA®
Foundation Board Member

Ira is a Senior Vice President, Distribution Americas with Amundi US, previously known as Pioneer Investments.  He is also a Leadership Ambassador for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion focused on education, employee engagement and recruiting.  Ira is on the Board of Advisors for Queens University in Charlotte and also serves as Chair of the Investment Committee with Towson University Foundation in Baltimore. 
His experience includes advisor and institutional consulting, portfolio management, practice management, sales and marketing.  After many years of working in the wirehouse environment, he is currently focused on the Independent Advisors and RIA business. Ira received a Bachelor of Science degree (Finance) from Towson University, his MBA from Hugh McColl School of Business (Queens University), and earned both, the accredited Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) and Certified Private Wealth Advisor (CPWA®) designations from the Investment & Wealth Institute in 2004 and 2008 respectively. He resides in Charlotte, NC with his wife Gail and their youngest daughter, currently attending UNC Chapel Hill.