WCM Global Wealth Speakers
Erik Weir
CFP®, Manager, WCM Global Wealth, LLC
Erik has more than 27 years of investment and financial services experience. Erik received his Bachelor of Arts (Finance/Real Estate) from Georgia State University in 1989. Erik was a licensed real estate agent at the age of 18 and assembled his first shopping center site while a sophomore in college. Prior to forming his own company, Erik was a Senior Vice President of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette in San Francisco, California and Assistant Vice President of Merrill Lynch in Atlanta, Georgia. Erik was named one of the Top Five Hedge Fund Managers by Hedgemark Magazine in 2000 and received the 2002 Outstanding Broker Award from Registered Rep Magazine as one of the Top Five Brokers in the United States. Erik formed Weir Capital Management, LLC in 1999, which was named one of the Top 25 Fastest Growing Companies in South Carolina in both 2009, 2010, and 2016. Erik formed WCM Global Wealth, LLC in 2011 in order to provide the best client services possible. Erik is a CFP®, has held various securities licenses, including Series 7, 4, 24, 51, 31, 63, 65 and is a licensed insurance professional. Erik was an executive producer of the movies “Priceless” and “Is Genesis History?”, both were released theatrically, and are now available on DVD. Erik enjoys helping people think through leadership and stewardship as they seek to invest both time and resources in a meaningful way. Erik earned a black belt in the martial art of Tang So Do in 1985 and holds advanced ranks in Kempo, Tae Kwon Do, and American Styles of Martial Arts. Erik enjoys aviation, and is a licensed private pilot with over 20 years of experience and holds multiengine and instrument ratings. He resides in Greenville, South Carolina with his wife Robin and their five boys.
Jim Blair
J.D., General Counsel, WCM Global Wealth, LLC
Jim, a native Texan, obtained his Bachelor of Arts (History) from the University of Texas at Austin in 1987. He then attended Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas and finished his post-graduate education in New York, obtaining his Juris Doctor Degree from Syracuse University College of Law in 1993. While in law school, Jim was a member of the Moot Court Board, Dean’s List, National Trial Team, and the Order of the Barrister’s. Most importantly, Jim met and married his wife while both were students. After law school, Jim moved to South Carolina and practiced business and commercial law for several large South Carolina law firms in excess of twenty-one years before becoming General Counsel for WCM Global Wealth, LLC in 2015. Mr. Blair’s legal experience includes a wide variety of corporate and planning matters; business litigation; acquisition and development deals; real property transactions; commercial, industrial and retail leasing; lending and finance transactions; and commercial transactions. Jim and his family live in Charleston, South Carolina.
Naiden Kremenliev
CFO, WCM Global Wealth, LLC
Naiden has more than 24 years of diversified financial operating and investment banking experience. He has been Chief Financial Officer for several multinational manufacturing and service businesses with revenues ranging from $1 million to over $200 million. He has more than 10 years of investment banking experience with Wachovia Securities and First Union Capital Markets in Charlotte, North Carolina where he primarily focused on mergers & acquisitions and private capital raising transactions. He has diversified acquisition, divestiture and due diligence transaction knowledge as buyer, seller and intermediary. Naiden received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Princeton University in 1993. He resides in Greenville, South Carolina with his wife and two children and enjoys golfing and snowboarding.
Jonathan McAdams
CFA®, Senior Fund Manager, WCM Global Wealth, LLC
Jonathan has more than 23 years of investment and financial services experience. Jonathan received a Bachelor of Arts (Finance) from Texas A&M University in 1994 and his Master of Business Administration with honors from the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University in 2001. Jonathan became a CFA® charterholder in 2002. He was previously Partner and Portfolio Manager at Mission Capital Management, an independent Registered Investment Advisor based in Franklin, Tennessee. Jonathan’s additional hedge fund management experience includes Partner and Founder of Alloy Global Fund in 2008, and Senior Analyst at Jetstream Capital Management in 2003, where assets grew from $10 million to $1.3 billion while achieving an annualized 30% return during his tenure. He was also an Analyst with AIM Funds (now Invesco) and worked with the Value Fund, a $30B large cap GARP mutual fund, and with the AIM Worldwide Spectrum Fund, which achieved top decile performance and was recognized by the Wall Street Journal as a top performer in its class. He joined WCM Global Wealth, LLC in 2015. Jonathan enjoys playing golf, coaching baseball, traveling, and playing the drums. He lives in Greenville, South Carolina with his wife and 6 children.
Jeff Stemler
CFP®, CLU, CHFC, CEXP, CLTC, Director of Planning, WCM Global Wealth, LLC
Jeff has been in the financial services business for 49 years providing comprehensive Financial, Exit, and Estate Planning for business owners, professionals and affluent individuals. Jeff obtained a Bachelors of Business Administration from Kent State University. Jeff’s professional designations include, among others, Certified Exit Planner (CExP), Certified Financial Planner (CFPTM), Chartered Life underwriter (CLU), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), and Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Certified in Long Term Care (CLTC). Jeff holds the following licenses; SC Life Insurance, securities licenses Series 7, 22, and 65. Jeff and his wife, Joan, have been married for 33 years, and together they have three wonderful children and are the proud grandparents of Finnlee, Stellan, and McCoy.
Special Guest Speakers
Henry McMaster
Governor of South Carolina
The son of the late attorney and former State Representative John Gregg McMaster and the late Ida Dargan McMaster, Governor McMaster is married to Peggy McMaster, and they have two children, Henry D. McMaster, Jr. and Mary Rogers McMaster. Prior to becoming governor, McMaster served two years as Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina, eight years as Attorney General of South Carolina and four years as U.S. Attorney for South Carolina. McMaster was the last independently elected Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina, and served as President of the Senate for the duration of his term. As attorney general, McMaster made prosecution of criminal domestic violence a priority and harnessed the resources of law enforcement and prosecutors to crack down on child Internet predators. He also extended the State Grand Jury’s jurisdiction to securities crimes after the collapse of Carolina Investors and Home Gold, convicting those responsible, and also extended jurisdiction to environmental crimes and gang crimes. He issued the landmark opinion to protect our marsh islands from encroachment and won in the State Supreme Court the Life Science Act case, which enhanced the state’s potential through its universities for research, development and investment in the knowledge-based economy. He organized and led the states in the constitutional challenge to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The first U.S. Attorney appointed by President Ronald Reagan, McMaster was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. His “Operation Jackpot” investigation into international drug smuggling produced over 100 convictions. In 2012 and upon Governor Nikki Haley’s appointment, McMaster and former Attorney General Travis Medlock led a bi-partisan commission to reform ethics laws and restore the public’s trust in state government. Mr. McMaster was elected chairman of the S.C. Republican Party in 1993 and was re-elected three times, also serving on the Republican National Committee until 2002. As chairman, he ushered in Republican majorities in the state’s House, Senate and constitutional offices. A former member of the S.C. Ports Authority board, the state Commission on Higher Education, Palmetto Health Foundation Board, South Carolina Policy Council – Chairman, and recipient of the Order of the Palmetto. McMaster is admitted to practice in all courts, state and federal, in South Carolina, the U.S. District Court (1974), the U.S. Court of Claims (1974), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (1975) and the Supreme Court of the United States (1978). McMaster received his AB degree in history in 1969 from the University of South Carolina and his Juris Doctor degree in 1973 from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he served on the Law Review. He entered private practice in Columbia in 1974 with Tompkins and McMaster, established in 1898.
Karen Kingsbury
New York Times Bestselling Novelist
Karen Kingsbury, #1 New York Times bestselling novelist, is America’s favorite inspirational storyteller, with more than 25 million copies of her award-winning books in print. Her last dozen titles have topped bestseller lists, and many of her novels are under development as major TV and motion picture films. Her many Baxter books will soon be The Baxter Family TV series, developed by Mark and Roma Downey and MGM Studios. Karen is also an adjunct professor at Liberty University. She lives in Tennessee with her husband, Don, and their five sons, three of whom are adopted from Haiti. Karen and Don’s actress daughter, Kelsey, lives nearby and is married to Christian recording artist Kyle Kupecky. The couple recently welcomed their first child, Hudson. Learn more about Karen’s books and upcoming projects and speaking events at KarenKingsbury.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Stephen Kendrick
Speaker, Producer and Author
Stephen Kendrick is Vice President of Kendrick Brothers Productions (KendrickBrothers.com) and produced the movies War Room, Courageous, Fireproof, and Facing the Giants. He also co-wrote the New York Times Bestsellers The Love Dare and The Resolution for Men. Stephen speaks at conferences and events and has been interviewed by FOX and FRIENDS, CNN, ABC World News Tonight, and on hundreds of radio programs. In 2011, Stephen helped found the Fatherhood CoMission and continues to serve on the board. He graduated from Kennesaw State University and attended New Orleans Seminary. He and his wife, Jill, live in Albany, Georgia with their six children and are active members of Sherwood church.
Bill Reeves
The WTA Group, LLC
Bill is the Co-Founder of The WTA Group, a multidisciplinary company serving the film, entertainment, and media industries with its focus on faith-based content, and has extensive experience in the Christian product industry. Since1988 Bill has been a part of the entertainment industry, including experience with Word Entertainment/Warner in distribution support for recording artists such as Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith; Big Idea Productions, where he led Christian retail product licensing and distribution for the successful VeggieTales® brand and worked on the theatrical release of Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie; Thomas Nelson Publishers/HarperCollins, where he served as Executive Producer of several children’s video properties, including Max Lucado’s Hermie & Friends® series; and Vice President of Marketing for Propeller Consulting, where he participated in the marketing launches of leading faith-based films such as Fireproof, Courageous, and Soul Surfer. Bill also led the consumer products campaigns for several of the Kendrick Brothers’ films and products, including the New York Times #1 best-selling book, The Love Dare, and many other charting books. In 2009, Bill launched The WTA Group, LLC which has led marketing campaigns for such films as 90 Minutes in Heaven, The Ultimate Life, and God’s Not Dead, and has worked extensively on the release of films such as Heaven is for Real and War Room. Bill lives in Tennessee with his family.
John Putnam
President, National Christian Foundation Piedmont
John is married to Anne and has three incredible children. He has always been an entrepreneur at heart and led a thriving practice in the financial services industry for more than 22 years, advising families and private business to create clarity and unity around their respective personal and business-planning life goals and community impact. Following his passion for financial stewardship, he closed his practice in 2012, and he and his team launched National Christian Foundation Piedmont in Charlotte, NC, as a regional affiliate of National Christian Foundation in Atlanta, Georgia. As Founding President, John serves families and their advisors to encourage Kingdom impact and mobilize Kingdom resources via the latest trends in family generosity, legacy planning, charitable giving and tax-saving opportunities. John is an avid writer and speaker, and is very active in media. His first book, He Spends She Spends: Why God Wants You to Live for Free, and its 5-Week Participant’s Guide, is designed for couples, small groups and churches and launched in 2016. Learn more and get new resources at JohnPutnam.com.