Greater Texas Financial Group

Managing Director 

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Rob has been in the financial services industry for over 30 years.  He began as a financial advisor in 1991 and has held multiple field leadership positions including training manager, district manager, field vice president, group vice president, senior vice president and managing director.  Today, he leads the Greater Texas Financial Group of Prudential. His background includes extensive experience with intangible sales, business management, team building, marketing, turn-around leadership, sales training and public speaking. He has delivered over 2,500 group presentations and hired and trained hundreds of financial services professionals. Rob holds several registrations including FINRA Series 7, Series 63, Series 65, Series 24 and Texas Group Life/ Health and variable insurance licenses.  He graduated from The University of Maryland with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management.  He is married with two children, was born in Baltimore, MD and has lived in Houston, TX since 1995.  His hobbies include running, reading, golf and maintaining a classic car collection.

Regional Director 

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Andrew joined Prudential in April 2022 as a Regional Director based out of the Houston, Texas branch. His focus within the Greater Texas Financial Group includes leading our Culture, Diversity & Inclusion initiatives, and coaching all of the financial professionals in their first year of joining Prudential. Joined by his wife Jade and son Silas, he relocated to Houston from Boston, MA where he ran a private advisory practice as well as a consulting practice for a New England-based brokerage general agency. Prior to that, Andrew’s career in the financial services industry was primarily focused on recruiting, training & development, and leadership for the financial professionals he serves while also maintaining a high-level financial planning practice he built from scratch. He has held several leadership roles over his career including Vice President, Advisor Coach, Pacesetter Manager, and College Unit Director. Andrew graduated from Plymouth State University with a degree in Business Administration with a focus on Sales & Marketing. He enjoys the outdoors, good movies, and spending time with his family & friends. 

Regional Director

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Kenny Phan, MBA, CLTC®, joined Prudential in 2013 and is responsible for the recruiting, training and development of new financial advisors/planners. He has helped to cultivate a diversified team of advisors, and his leadership quickly earned him the recognition as one of the top managers in multiple years. Kenny is married with two daughters and very much enjoys dad jokes and being on team “Girl Dad”. He loves coaching and playing basketball, volunteering, playing piano and spending time with family. 

Regional Director

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Sean Conti began his career in the investment management business over 25 years ago. Sean has seen success throughout his career as a producer in the Houston market, a wholesaler, and leading training and development for financial professionals and leadership alike. On a personal note, Sean and his wife Jennifer have been married for 29 years and have a daughter named Kathryn, who is a sophomore at TCU.

Regional Director

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Christy Simek, who grew up in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area, became a licensed financial professional in 2003. During her career, she’s held multiple field positions, including Market Director, National Head of Advisor Development and Business Development Director. She now joins the Greater Texas Financial Group as a Regional Director out of the Plano office. Christy is married with a daughter and son and in her free time, enjoys watching the Dallas Cowboys and her kids play soccer and lacrosse.

Director, Sales Support & Oversight

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Katie Buiel is the Director, Sales Support & Oversight at Prudential’s Greater Southwest Financial Group.  She is responsible for all aspects of the office’s operations and compliance standards. Her philosophy on aligning her teams support to the vision and goals of the financial planner, financial advisor and financial professional has contributed to their success in the marketplace and client retention.  She believes that building a connection and relationship with each representative is the key to a productive partnership in order to fully support their practice.  Katie has served in the financial services industry since 1999.  She holds a BS from The Ohio State University, is a member of the Chi Omega sorority alumni, and currently resides in Coppell, Texas with her husband and son.

Business Development Manager

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As a business development manager with more than 20 years of dynamic leadership experience in the financial services industry, Melissa is passionate about helping people achieve their professional and personal goals. She is skilled at connecting the right talent with the right team and tools to maximize efficiency and drive practice profitability. Melissa joined the Greater Texas Financial Group in April of 2021 after enjoying a dynamic career in the financial services industry since 1994. Her experience includes executive level positions in sales strategy and operations. Throughout her career, she has played an instrumental role in acquisitions exceeding $100B multimillion-dollar savings through contract development and negotiation, and significant improvement in processes and performance. She holds Bachelor in Management and Marketing from Texas A&M University and an MBA from University of Houston. Melissa holds several industry licenses including FINRA Series 24, Series 51, Series 7, Series 63, Series 65, and Texas Group I Life/ Health.

Senior Firm Support Specialist

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Stephanie joined Prudential in January of 2022.  She reports directly to the Managing Director and focuses on recruiting, marketing and sales support activities to drive market and revenue growth. In her recruiting initiatives her responsibilities include identifying needs and partnering with the Recruiting Organization to recruit team members to fill those needs and select and support prospective candidates through the hiring process. Through oversight of the Greater Texas Financial Group’s social media platforms, Stephanie increases visibility, brand awareness and promotes inclusion and diversity strategies. She enjoys spending time with her two girls Maggie, and Emma, going to the movies, traveling and making memories. 

Senior Firm Support Specialist

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As a Senior Firm Support Specialist with Prudential, Danielle reports to our Managing Director. Her main focus is on recruiting, onboarding Marketing Assistants, onboarding Professional Alliance, teaming up with the Regional Directors and the internal and external wholesalers regarding events. By doing so, she is providing sales support to drive revenue and growth. In the recruiting services department, Danielle aligns the vision and goals with the Recruitment Team to execute as one of the first points of contact when speaking to candidates so she can deliver and act as a qualifying guideline for applicants. Danielle likes to implement and strategize with the marketing team to ensure the recruiting process is successful, organized, and transparent to the public, candidates, and our team members. She also works to move the hiring and onboarding processes forward, and to provide the proper documentation to help expedite/implement/revise regarding the next steps with new hires. Lastly, she supports the financial professionals and helps train and develop where it is needed. In her personal time, Danielle spends time with her daughter and as a family, they like to be in nature, go to the movies, play games, and discover new adventures.

Sales Support Specialist

Judy joined Prudential in May 2021. Reporting directly to Director of Sales Support and Oversight, her responsibility is providing administrative support in the operations area of a professional sales office.  Judy supports the sales office in the areas of compliance, business quality, administrative support, receptionist duties, special projects, document retention and management, customer support and general office support. In her role, she contributes to the monitoring and hiring of marketing assistant candidates through the onboarding process.  Prior to Prudential, she worked in the energy industry for seven years training and coaching agents to sell electricity, gas and home protection plans which led to creating customer friendly marketing materials for client use.  Judy graduated from LeTourneau University with a degree in Business Management and enjoys dancing, music and spending time with family & friends.

Sales Support Specialist

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Carol joined Prudential August 2022 as a Sales Support Specialist.  In this key role, she is the center of operational excellence for our field and business partners.  Carol is part of the team that ensures alignment with company and regulatory guidelines. Prior to joining Prudential Advisors, Carol enjoyed a 24 year investment industry career beginning with the transfer agent then moved over to the business side as the Sales Operations Manager focused on the growth of corporate initiatives through achieving sales and revenue goals.