Meet Our Team
Stanley J. Katz
Financial Advisor
Stanley brings extensive finance, investment, and business experience to ClientFirst Financial Strategies, Inc. He has been providing financial guidance to clients since 1983. Stanley enjoys helping individuals and families achieve their financial goals and solve their financial questions. This has motivated him every day since he became a financial advisor. Stanley’s daughter, Lauren Katz Madera, joined him 2016. Stanley relishes the opportunity to partner with Lauren and support clients as a father-daughter team. Prior to launching ClientFirst Financial Strategies, Inc., Stanley spent five years as a financial advisor at Ross, Sinclaire & Associates. Previously, Stanley served as a principal and portfolio manager at First Alliance Asset Management and a registered representative for Prudential-Bache and Paine Webber.
Born in Dayton, Ohio, Stanley graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1976 with a BS in Business Administration. He holds the FINRA designations of a General Securities Representative (Series 7) and General Securities Principal (Series 24). Stanley has also passed the NASAA Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination (Series 63).
Lauren Katz Madera, CFA
Financial Advisor
Lauren has worked in the financial services industry since 2003. After thirteen years in investment banking and alternative investments, Lauren had an epiphany: she felt most fulfilled when helping individuals and families achieve their financial goals. Thus, Lauren became a financial advisor. She joined forces in 2016 with her father, Stanley Katz, who has been providing financial guidance to clients since Lauren was two years old. Prior to launching ClientFirst Financial Strategies, Inc., Lauren spent five years as a financial advisor at Ross, Sinclaire & Associates. Previously, Lauren was a member of the client service and marketing team at Magnetar Capital, a multi-strategy alternative investment management firm. Before joining Magnetar in 2010, Lauren spent five years with Man Investments, one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers. Lauren began her career in investment banking as a financial analyst with Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin.
Lauren is a CFA® charterholder. She earned a BBA in Finance from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Chicago. She holds the FINRA designation of a General Securities Representative (Series 7) and has also passed the NASAA Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination (Series 63).
In her free time, Lauren enjoys an active lifestyle—spending time with her family, swimming, and playing tennis. Her son can always be counted on for a daily reminder to close the activity rings on her Apple watch.
L. Patrick Ryan, MBA, CPA
Business & Finance Manager
Pat is an MBA and CPA with over twenty five years of increasingly diversified experience in financial reporting, planning and business management. Expertise includes financial analysis and process improvement reviews. He excels at developing, implementing and monitoring policies and procedures to maximize compliance with both internal policies and external regulatory requirements. Personal character traits include honesty, integrity, respect for others, an unwavering dedication to the highest level of moral and ethical personal conduct and entrepreneurial spirit.
Talaya Sims
Client Service Specialist
Talaya fell into her career in finance. She has been in the business for more than 10+ years. Talaya enjoys providing services to clients anything from answering everyday questions to online account access. Above all, her passion is to provide clients with a positive experience. Talaya enjoys spending time with family and friends, being outside, traveling, cooking, volunteering and crafting.