People
- Brenden Gebben, MBA, CIMA®
Chief Executive Officer
Portfolio Management, Research, Product Design, Operations
Brenden’s experience in navigating the financial markets spans more than 20 years, with the majority of those specifically dedicated to third party money management. He co-founded Absolute Capital in 2002. He earned an M.B.A., from the University of Illinois, Springfield, and his B.A. from Illinois Wesleyan University. He holds a Certified Investment Management Analyst, CIMA®, designation through IMCA in conjunction with the Wharton School of Business. He is an active participant in industry organizations such as IMCA.
Brenden resides in Pittsburgh, PA with his wife and two sons. He enjoys time outdoors hiking and camping with family and friends.
- Alex Barned, M.A.
National Sales Director
As National Sales Director, Alex heads the national sales channel, external wholesaling efforts and oversees the internal sales desk.
In his twenty years of financial services experience, Alex has held executive level roles with firms including UBS and Allianz with responsibility for marketing, sales processes and strategy. He is passionate about working with advisors and sharing his experience and insight to help grow their businesses. Alex holds a B.A. and M.A. from the George Washington University in Washington, DC. In his spare time, Alex enjoys open water swimming, golf and tennis.
- Bonnie Dougherty
Plan Research Analyst
Bonnie Dougherty joined Absolute Capital in 2019 as part of the firm’s Retirement Plan Research Team. Bonnie grew up in NY and graduated from Boston College with degrees in Marketing and Business/Information Systems. In addition to working at Absolute Capital, Bonnie also works at the Mt. Lebanon Fire Department where her husband serves as a Volunteer Firefighter. She is a Girl Scout leader and an active volunteer in the community, serving on several boards including Mt. Lebanon City Council of PTAs, Skating Club of Mt. Lebanon and Deer Valley YMCA Family Camp. When she’s not working, Bonnie enjoys spending time with her husband Bill, and her three children Josh, Josie and Ben.
- Denise Alfieri
Chief Compliance Officer
Denise is responsible for overseeing the compliance program at Absolute Capital. Denise is a Director at ACA Group, a firm specializing in providing compliance consulting and support services to investment advisers, private fund managers, commodity trading advisors, investment companies, broker-dealers, and domestic and international banks.. She has worked in the securities industry for over twenty years and has a strong background in investment adviser regulatory compliance. Denise specializes in the development, ongoing maintenance, and testing of compliance programs, drafting of policies and procedures as well as the registration of investment advisers. Denise assist investment advisers and private fund managers on a wide variety of investment management topics, including risk management, compliance with SEC regulations, regulatory examinations, and evaluation of compliance programs. Denise holds Series 7, 63 and 24 securities licenses; as well as the designation Investment Adviser Certified Compliance Professional (IACCP®) from National Regulatory Services, Inc.
- Joan Mackey, CPA
Senior Accountant
As a lifelong resident of Pittsburgh, PA, Joan earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She also holds a CPA License in Pennsylvania and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. After practicing for years as a CPA in the fields of Audit and Tax and also as a Financial Analyst for public and private companies, Joan joined Absolute Capital in early 2014 to work in the areas of Billing and Accounting.
- Mary Ann Kimball, MBA, CPA
Senior Accountant
Mary Ann joined Absolute Capital in 2016. She attended both Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana where she received a B.B.A. degree, as well as, the University of Pittsburgh where she received an M.B.A. degree. Mary Ann is a C.P.A. and was employed in the past on the audit staff at Arthur Young & Company in Pittsburgh. In addition, she was a Vice President and Division Manager at Mellon Bank, where she held various positions in the Operating Services, Human Resources, and Finance Departments. In her spare time, she volunteers as a member of both the Finance Council and Audit Committee at her church.
- Michael Vieira
Advisory Associate
Michael joined Absolute Capital in 2019 as an Internal Wholesaler. Michael attended Kutztown University where he studied Finance and served as an officer for the Kutztown University Financial Management Association (FMA). Michael has accumulated experience in a variety of fields within Construction, Real Estate, Wealth Management, Accounting, and even Supply Chain Management. In his spare time he enjoys just about anything that sounds exciting, hanging out with family, sports, and food!
- Nicole McDonald
Administrative Analyst
Nicole (Niki) McDonald joined Absolute Capital as an Operations Administrative Analyst in 2017. Nicole, a Chicago native, has extensive background in Administrative and Back Office Functions, Information Technology, and Client Relations. Nicole has vast experience in the day to day running of businesses, and a great passion for improving business processes and providing solutions for our valued business partners. In her previous career, Niki worked closely with patients, doctors, healthcare companies and governmental regulatory agencies. When she’s not working, Niki enjoys spending time with her husband (who serves in the United States Army), and her son Conner.
- Renee Gebben
Strategic Projects Manager
Renee utilizes her two-plus decades of experience in financial services to her role at Absolute Capital. She earned a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross. Prior to joining Absolute Capital, she served as Vice President and Director of Insurance Marketing at Federated Investors where she was responsible for developing and implementing comprehensive marketing programs. Her programs reached tens of thousands of institutional investors and brokers each year, supporting their decisions on investment products. Renee began her career at Prudential, where she was recruited by the firm’s Executive Management Development Program.
- Rick Garcia
Advisory Director
Rick joined Absolute Capital in January, 2018 as a Regional Vice President of Sales, based in Boynton Beach, Florida. With over 30 years of financial service industry experience, Rick has vast knowledge of the products and solutions that assist advisors in growing their practice. Rick’s previous positions in banking and wholesaling have allowed him to continually demonstrate his unmatched ability to build relationships and tailor appropriate solutions for each financial advisor he serves. Rick is fluent in Spanish and enjoys travelling in his leisure time. Rick holds Series 7, 63 and 65 licenses.
- Tammy Anthos, MBA
Director, Strategic Initiatives
Tammy joined Absolute Capital in 2019 as part of the firm’s Retirement Plan Research Team. She is also involved in many of the firm’s strategic projects and is the lead on Salesforce Administration. Tammy earned her BS in Marketing & Business Logistics at Penn State University and her MBA at Duquesne University. As a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and Prosci Certified Change Practitioner, Tammy is very passionate about processes and people and applies those skills in her role at Absolute Capital. Prior to joining Absolute Capital, Tammy had a 20-year career at Bayer holding various executive management-level positions including international customer service & supply chain management, business process optimization and transformational change management. Tammy is a life-long Pittsburgh resident, married with a son at Michigan State University and a daughter at Peters Township High School. Tammy enjoys watching and participating in sports, especially hockey, tennis & pickleball, traveling & anything adventurous and spending quality time with family and friends.
- Vikash Banka MBA, CPA
Director, Back Office
Vikash joined Absolute Capital in 2004. Vikash began his financial career with Prudential Financial and Waddell & Reed, Inc. A graduate of Robert Morris University, Vikash earned his B.S. in Business Administration with a major in finance. He went on at Robert Morris to earn his MBA with an emphasis in Accounting. He also holds his CPA certification.